The Intergalactic Highway

Though not every patrol brought something worthwhile the tigeress was surprised to head some commotion in the distance as she patrolled the jungle. Quietly approaching the area she could just make out what looked like a skirmish, though one of the fighters she didn't recognize. It was likely a new bot from the stasis pod her comrades were trying to retrieve. Tilting her head Wintersong considered for a moment of helping thinking Frilla and Rattrap combined might be enough and Dinobot was a seasoned warrior. Deciding to give a little help she kept the distance and transformed. "Little help goes a long way." She muttered moving closer quietly.

Coming to the nearest tree she could she unsheathed her claws and dug then into a tree to pull herself higher. After a bit she found a suitable spot on what seemed a thick branch and the foliage was thick enough to hide her. Retracting her claws Wintersong raised one of her dual-barrel wrist launchers and aimed near Onyx's feet when he turned away and fired one mini missile before aiming towards Starshadow but also avoiding Dinobot and fired one to hit near her.

Though Wintersong couldn't help but find it amusing the first time she was using these was just to discourage the Predacons."Should have used these long ago." She murmured and watched to see of the tactic worked.

Aurora, too, took note of the special attention Optimus Primal was giving the new spider member of the team. Although a bit curious as to why, she chose not to make it too obvious. Perhaps Primal would enlighten the rest of them of what was going on soon enough.

"Is there normally so much secrecy around here?," she pondered, before realizing she had been speaking out loud. Following up with a hesitant smile, she glanced at her two companions in turn.The tour Whitegracer was providing was nice and informative, but there was a feeling of insecurity surrounding the situation and it was increasing the longer Arachnitron and Primal kept to themselves.

Aurora was a brand new Maximal, but she sensed something was different about the spiderbot.

Phoenix wrote:Aurora, too, took note of the special attention Optimus Primal was giving the new spider member of the team. Although a bit curious as to why, she chose not to make it too obvious. Perhaps Primal would enlighten the rest of them of what was going on soon enough.

"Is there normally so much secrecy around here?,"

She heard the youngling's question and just smiled, "Normally, no. We are all like a family here and we like to make sure to welcome people with open arms. Though, there are some who are afraid or fear that if they reveal what darkness they hold in themselves, that people will change their perception of them and scorn them because of their mistakes or the actions of others. It's normal to feel frighten of such situations but as we are all from different aspects of life with different experiences, I don't see how there won't be someone here that will listen to them and understand them as well."

Whitegrazer seemed to think she rambled too much, "I'm sorry I ramble sometimes but I hope you understand what I meant."

The whole conversation made her reminisced about Saber's secret and Arachnitron whose story was still unknown to her. There will always be some type of secret people hold in but there will always be someone they can trust here.

Starshadow just hissed when she heard a missle fire. A missle was heading towards her?! She quickly jumped to her right. "Slagging Maxies..a Four against three fight.." It's not that she worry, more maximals just irritates her.

Starshadow fired a plasma ball at Dinobot and a stream of it at leaves of the trees.

((She's going mad..later))

Frilla ducked one of the shots Onyx fired while one caught on her sword."More like warning shots." She muttered but as she moved her sword she gasped as it caught fire and tossed it aside and backed off,"Great a friction rifle." She muttered but looked up when she noticed a missile, or two it seeded when Starshadow dodged one and attacked the one firing them and if it hit Onyx her and Rattrap would likely be caught in the force of the explosion. Hurrying to the rat she pushed him back a bit while ducking nearby.

((Stay safe Oop heard it's pretty bad there. ))

Onyx watched Starshadow dodge a missile and looked over just in time to see a second approaching. It was aimed directly near his feet and the explosion would be enough to knock him and the two small Maximals away with ease. Turning he aimed his Friction Rifle and fired but the force of the collison was enough to make him stumble slightly before looking to where it came from.

Was another maximal hiding there all this time? Couldn't be otherwise they would have known or picked up a signal, Onyx just now picking up on it but saw no need to fire. Starshadow's attack and an unfortunate fall was likely to incapacitate the offender.

((OOC:Sorry for taking so long to write again on here. I've been kinda' busy recently.))

Save the trouble and tell me now, this isn't too hard for me to handle. Besides, I doubt the Maximals are just going to let me waltz away with this thing.. this may be the best chance you got.

Steelclaw got straight to the point.

"On the morning of the day the aliens last visited, I was out testing my new rounds, when I overheard something moving nearby in the forest. I went to investigate and I found Sonar and Saber Fang meeting in a clearing in the forest.

"So we've suspected their involvement with each other for a long time, but it always helps to have confirmation. From what I could gather from their conversation, Saber Fang sought Sonar out back on Cybertron. She wanted his expertise to help her get rid of her involuntary transformations into that animal.

"Given the fact that she still has those transformations, I can't tell whether Sonar is just unable to handle the task or if he's been leaving it unfixed for his own purposes. At any rate, Saber Fang doesn't want his help or hindrance anymore. When she brought that fact up, Sonar threatened her. Once he was sure she was aware of his position on the matter, he injected her with a substance I don't know the nature of and then left to join us on our mission."

"Now... why do you suspect he would want her to keep up with his experimentation? I can't think of any reason he'd want to repair her anymore. He doesn't strike me as altruistic. And I don't think he would trust her to actually remain loyal to him once she was cured.

"And- correct me if I'm thinking about this the wrong way, but what could a liquid injection possibly do against a condition like hers? Inhibit some internal mechanism which triggers the transformation? But how could he, as a scientist, truly hope to know it had worked? After all, if she doesn't transform for a while, it could be reasonably argued that she had just never encountered the proper situation.

"My point in all of this is that Sonar isn't up to any good. I don't know what he is doing to her, but I strongly suspect he isn't helping. In fact, it's entirely possible he's hurting her.

He was about to continue speaking, but he stopped himself. Cecaelia seemed nice enough, but if she talked to Starshadow and Starshadow talked to Sonar, it would be bad enough that Sonar knew of the conversation they'd had thus far.

But the thought lingered on in his processor: he knew he might not stand idly by as he learned more about Sonar and Saber Fang. He needed to know, if things came to a head, whether he could rely on the other Predacons not to stop him from confronting Sonar.

* * *

"O.k, well then let's get back to base," Cheetor said. "Did you know we got like... three different new guys today, if you count Ironclaw? Well, actually, it's two girls and one guy, but, you know."

* * *

Starshadow wrote:Oh no no scale face..the pod belongs to me now.

That did not take long, indeed.

"Dinobot, maximize!"

He quickly withdrew his rotating shield, and rushed in more quickly when he saw Starshadow having to retreat from a missile. But the next moment, Starshadow's plasma ball hit Dinobot's shield with such force that the shield was knocked out of his grasp. A small amount of the plasma went beyond the shield and burned into Dinobot midsection, but he stayed on his feet.

Growling, he rushed in to close the distance and retrieved his sword. Once he was in striking distance, he swung at his opponent.

Alright so it didn't go as planned but Wintersong could see these Predacons still were going to fight. And unfortunately it seemed Starshadow was ticked. Seeing the attack the panther used Wintersong could only lean quickly to the side knowing she would be going no where but down from a decent height. Though Starshadow's attack hit the tree instead Wintersong growled and grunted as she fell past branches that scratched and smacked her on the way down and then she hit the ground with a thud. The tigeress winched as pain shot up her left arm and when trying to sit up she growled sharply as she looked at it, some joints in the elbow and wrist dislocated from the fall and from landing on it."Great now only got one shoot arm." She muttered and stood grabbing her laser rifle from her side just in case but for now stayed off to the side of the fight.

Cecaelia just smiled at Steelclaw as she listened. "Oh don't stop, keep talking." The amount of information is good enough. If she reported this to Starshadow, the night training could be cancelled.


Starshadow backed off as Dinobot swung his sword but the sharp tip made a scratch mark on her cheek. The catbot jumped and kicked his face with the claws of her feet, scratching his right cheek.

Glowstick listened to Steelclaw as he got the ship into a higher altitude, his head then turned glancing back towards the Munitions expert.

Steelclaw wrote:"Now... why do you suspect he would want her to keep up with his experimentation? I can't think of any reason he'd want to repair her anymore. He doesn't strike me as altruistic. And I don't think he would trust her to actually remain loyal to him once she was cured.

"And- correct me if I'm thinking about this the wrong way, but what could a liquid injection possibly do against a condition like hers? Inhibit some internal mechanism which triggers the transformation? But how could he, as a scientist, truly hope to know it had worked? After all, if she doesn't transform for a while, it could be reasonably argued that she had just never encountered the proper situation.

Glowstick then responded Hm... Well it isn't unheard of for injections. While the living metal that composes our bodies is resistant to rust and other metal conditions, there are also diseases which can inflict similar side effects. In best case scenarios..it's best to just remove the patient's limb, but it's spread to the entire body, they have to be injected near daily to suppress the effects of the virus, though it's usually a long struggle that only results in a painful death.

As for Sonar.. from what I can tell, he's a scientist that specializes mostly in Biology, particularly organics and the inner workings of Cybertronians.. I wouldn't be so surprised if he made the condition she has, which at this point while beyond my normal medical studies.. doesn't surprise me anymore considering Starshadow and Cecaelia here.But your right, he isn't making a cure. If anything, he's using it to suppress a weapon which even he can't keep under his thumb.. which isn't unusual at all.. As many of the "good" Predacons are around, the Maximals are right.. there are alot of Bad predacons.. But I already knew Sonar can't be trusted the day he showed up.. and even more evident when he shot Terrorsaur with the Leviathan's main guns.

But that is the way of the Predacon.. everybody has their own agenda.. Even I do..it's just mine might be more beneficial to more then myself.. In the case of Saberfang.. I can't really do anything for her, she's the enemy after all. But if Rhinox hasn't figured it out by now, I doubt I'd do much better..

The ship continued on, changing it's course. Glowstick turned his head to focus on flying, but from the height he started to notice a bit of smoke from the ground in the distance. The cabin then displayed a zoomed image of Starshadow in battle with an unknown robot, as well as Dinobot. She really knows how to bring trouble doesn't she? Yeesh.. I guess I could go in to help, but she probably wouldn't want it. So I guess..that's up to you Cecaelia. Do you want me to help her?

_______________

Icebreaker nodded to Cheetor Another huh? I met Aurora earlier.. she seems like a good kid. Well, let's regroup with the others. he then said, resuming walking in the direction of the Maximal base.

"Oh, just give me moment," Cecaelia replied and started to radio Starshadow, "I see yooouuu~"

"Did you get rid rid of bone wings?" Starshadow asked.

"Nope, I thought you could do it yourself."

"...What do you want? I'm busy right now as you can..see."

"Need help?"

"No- I mean..you could set the area on fire. It will be good if we roast a few maximals."

"ARE YOU MAD?!"

"Just kidding..help me take on the stripey fluffy furball."
Cecaelia shut off her comlinks. "Okie. She wants help."

(ooc: I hope everyone's doing ok after the storm. We actually did not get hit by it at all (although we're in upstate NY so NYC is some distance away, but I heard it got pretty bad in some locations. )

Whitegracer wrote:"Normally, no. We are all like a family here and we like to make sure to welcome people with open arms. Though, there are some who are afraid or fear that if they reveal what darkness they hold in themselves, that people will change their perception of them and scorn them because of their mistakes or the actions of others. It's normal to feel frighten of such situations but as we are all from different aspects of life with different experiences, I don't see how there won't be someone here that will listen to them and understand them as well."

Aurora listened to Whitegracer's explanation without interrupting her. She had not really considered how others might not have come to life on this planet without any previous history that they were aware of, such as herself. Hopefully the arachnid female had not suffered too much in her time before joining the Maximals. The fuzor briefly contemplated if the arachnid had come here from Cybertron or from some other distant place, and if so what adventures she had experienced along the way. She also wondered if she, too, would experience similar adventures in the future.

Aurora understood that her comrades as well as their Predacon foes hailed from Cybertron, a planet that held no meaning to the young Maximal as she had never experienced it. She felt a certain bond with this world they were on, but many of those around her seemed almost homesick. The young fuzor got lost in thought for a few moments as she contemplated the situation.

Whitegracer wrote:"I'm sorry I ramble sometimes but I hope you understand what I meant."

"Aye," Aurora responded, tugging lightly on her lip as she did. "I hope we can help her work through those demons that are haunting her."

She turned to Ironclaw, curious about her new comrade. "On a hopefully lighter note; what would be your story?," she smiled sweetly, not wanting to dwell on the former topic any longer.

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

"Please.. Stop!

The female Decepticon's plea went unnoticed like all the previous ones before it had done.

As she lay there, her arms, legs and midsection strapped down to the table, she silently cursed herself for not being stronger. Strong enough to endure without pleading for her life.. her sanity.. for the torture to stop. Like so many times before she vowed this was the final time she would suffer the humiliation of showing weakness, well knowing she would no doubt break that vow again.

They never sedated her before performing the procedures on her, despite the fact they were quite painful. At the time Nemesis told herself they were doing it so they could monitor the effects the tests had on her mind. Later on she would come to the conclusion that they simply did not care. She was just another test subject, one of many. The room she was in had a few other work stations, and she was aware there were other rooms nearby as well. Exactly how many others were involved, she did not know. She simply could not bring herself to think about it much, as her personal survival instincts were kicking in every time they removed her from her cell to bring her here. But she knew of the others. Nemesis frequently heard their screams echo through the facility.

She could only brace herself as her armor bent and finally cracked from the force exerted on her. An excruciating pain overwhelmed her as the sharp, vibrating blades of the saw cut into her body, mangling her circuits in the process. The pain only subsided a bit when her sensory circuits got cut, only to worsen again when they cut deeper and widened the area.

Whimpering, the female tossed and turned as much as her restraints would allow, desperate to get away. She attempted to plead with them again, begging them to stop and to just let her go. To no avail. They didn't even respond to her pleas. Instead two of them proceeded to hold her down while the other three continued working.

This time it was Nemesis' screams that echoed through the lab.
-----
Her eyes flickered on as she abruptly jumped up, tightly gripping the sai in her hand. Panic stricken she looked around, expecting to see a number of scientists surrounding her. But there were nobody there with her. Upon realizing she was dreaming about a time long ago, she started calming down a bit. Recurring nightmares was the reason Nemesis rarely slept.

"I have to finish this," she muttered to herself.

Aurora's smile caught Ironclaw again and he would just spill his entire life story right then. "I'm from Cybertron. I was working on a Star hopper when it decided to bring me here of all places. Thats what I do, I'm an engineer. I'm also the decendant of the great Autobot Ironhide" Ironclaw paused after that last part. He didn't know why he added that in. He tried to think of something to make it sound like it was relevant. "Like Optimus primal is the decendant of Optimus Prime, I am the decendant of Ironhide. Although I don't think I can live up to that like Optimus can" Ironclaw explained takin a quick look over to Optimus. He was envious of Optimus for that.

Feralnight looked around the bridge, though compared to earlier it was empty so she flew to the flight hatch and flew outside again. Looking around a bit the fuzor spread her wings out a bit more to slowly land and glanced over as she heard a few voices, one she recognized as Ironclaw's and she came around to where the three where. They seemed to be getting quite a few new bots that day, having smelled a third new bot on her way there."Enjoying your time to the Axalon you two?" Feralnight spoke up after Ironclaw finished talking and came over to join them,"And good to see you Whitegrazer." She greeted with a smile before looking back at Ironclaw and Aurora though was a bit curious of both.

OOC:

Phoenix wrote:(ooc: I hope everyone's doing ok after the storm. We actually did not get hit by it at all (although we're in upstate NY so NYC is some distance away, but I heard it got pretty bad in some locations. )

All good in my neck of the woods! Hurricane Irene blew through Saturday night into Sunday. We lost power for about 12 hours or so, water came into our basement a little, and we have been without internet until sometime this afternoon. I don't think it was half as bad as they were expecting though....we were supposed to be the epicenter of the storm, but I think the eye wall collapsed LONG before it finally got here. Anyway, just some minor water damage from the flooding and high winds. Nothing major.

So WorpeX and I are just fine! Can't speak for anyone else that got hit, but we're good. But I have to wait until OOP posts to do anything more in character, so guess that's all from me tonight.