"OC Episode #5.5 Side Saga"

[Blazemane]

Back off. Or I turn your friend into mulch!

Cheetor gasped out loud.

He liked to act brave. He liked to think he just was brave. But he still felt angry and a little helpless when Predacons made threats against his teammates that he couldn’t answer. He could take a shot, yeah, but would he even hit Nemesis? If he hit her, would that stop her? If it didn’t stop her, would she blow Arachnitron to smithereens?

Hopefully somebody closer by would be able to handle the situation.

You're greatly outnumbered. Leave now.

Good point. If she did something, she was done for. She wouldn’t dare, would she?

Very well, Maximals, you leave me no choice. Die!

Woh!

Cheetor could “see” Nemesis with Orcariner’s help, but actually visually speaking, he still could only really see a smoke could in front of him, so he didn’t have much time to react when a grenade suddenly flew out and headed straight for him.

He arched his back, turned to the side and stepped backwards awkwardly and just avoided getting hit. He could feel the wind of the explosive as it passed by the cheetah head on his chest and then continued its path. He put his arms up to protect himself from the explosion that came next, but the grenade had landed far enough away not be a problem anyways.

He brought his gun up and pointed it back at the cloud, which flashed a bright reddish-orange at different intervals when the other grenades went off, creating blurry black shadows where ‘bot’s frames stood in the way of the light.

Then all of a sudden, Nemesis herself came hurtling out of the cloud and landed on the ground. Cheetor trained his cannon on her, but she didn’t seem to be moving, so he packed it away.

All units report to the command center.

Cheetor was about to transform to beast mode and do that, but he stopped when Optimus looked at him with a frown. Was he disappointed for Cheetor being there? Was he in pain, or disappointed about the way the day had gone and just happened to look at Cheetor when he came to show what he was thinking? Was he making some big philosophical statement about the universe that Cheetor didn’t get right now?

Anyways, Big Bot moved on and got to the lift with Arachnitron, so Cheetor finally did go to beast mode.

Is everyone okay?! Are you two okay? Arachnitron? Arachnitron? Optimus? Optimus?

With the smoke disappearing, and with the chance to focus on her first time, Cheetor finally noticed the condition Whitegrazer was in. She looked terrible. Her shouting seemed really intense, too, like the damage she’d just taken was making something in her processor overreact or be out of control.

I have to tell you something. I have to warn you. It's-

Cheetor started panicking. Something was definitely wrong with her and it wasn’t fixing itself. Was what was wrong in her processor a sign of something that was gonna make her die?

He felt relieved when she went back into stasis lock. She couldn’t freak out anymore, or be in pain or… whatever was wrong.

Cheetor got on the lift once it was finally available and went up to the bridge, which was already getting crowded by Maximals following Optimus’ command to meet there. After deciding to just stand, he noticed there was a sort of tension in the room.

* * *

Glowstick-kun, we have to go now! Starshadow-sama is in pieces and looks like she's dead!

Steelclaw took the scene in stride. The potential death of a comrade- and the sight of her strewn in various pieces across the forest floor- wasn’t something to shrug off, but even if she was dead, it would be best to act calmly. And the Predacons hadn’t gotten official word on her condition, anyways, so it certainly wouldn’t be good to act as if she were gone.

He casually turned to look at Onyx when he walked in.

Quite a neat little craft you guys have here. And pardon my rudeness my name is Onyx.

Steelclaw liked Onyx. Sonar had spoken with a facsimile of courtesy the day he arrived, but even then, he conducted himself in a way that made Steelclaw suspicious. Onyx seemed genuinely relatable.

“Hey,” Steelclaw greeted him simply while offering a handshake. He might have tried to engage him in a real conversation, but he was still focused on the situation at hand.

…Unfortunately.. it seems my efforts with Starshadow.. wont. Best I can tell, a bomb blew her to pieces, but strangely the spark chamber seems undamaged..But the spark is gone. I guess I'll fix the body, maybe keep it around for emergencies.. though with her unique condition.. probably be better off studying just what sort of effect her mutations had on her cybertronian biology.

Steelclaw felt a small pang at the announcement, but he kept silent. Right now, they had to complete their mission- to regroup back at base, fill Megatron in on certain details, get the starhopper’s parts stowed away, integrate Onyx into what would be his life for the time-being, etc. He could ponder her death later.

This calmness became especially important with what happened next- Cecaelia cried in front of the rest of the crew. Steelclaw had to try a little harder to remain stone-faced in the sight of such a reaction, but he’d witnessed enough people break down before to handle his own emotions.

Glowstick is there a chance the bot you know as Starshadow was being used as a host body?

Ah, no.. I've done work on her many times before, she had a spark. I would of assumed it was destroyed in the blast, but.. there would of been a positronic residue all over. So.. her spark appears to be "missing", as if it was extracted. Considering the maximals don't have the technology to do that.. I don't know what is going on.

Steelclaw’s subdued grief quickly shifted into unassuaged curiosity. Her spark was missing, and in a way that didn’t seem like it had naturally died away? Maybe there was hope for her after all. But first they’d have to find the spark. And there was no guarantee it could even be found. And then, if they found it, they’d have to retrieve it from wherever it was, and maybe they wouldn’t be able to. And if they did get it, they’d have to find a way to put it back in Starshadow’s frame.

Some criminals on Cybertron had their sparks isolated, and then could have those sparks re-inserted into bodies, so at least there was hope for that if…

Steelclaw stopped thinking about the situation when he saw Glowstick embrace Cecaelia.

Suddenly, there seemed little to think about coherently or guardedly.

What he saw was a collection of answers to a number of questions he hadn’t really asked for a while. What he saw was… correct. Right.

Steelclaw.. I think I have an idea. With the Maximals gone, we can investigate the scene.. I mean it's just a theory but, you have the best beast mode for tracking.. You think you wanna give it a shot? You're nose would be able to pick up if something was unusual with the scene.

Back to business. Steelclaw stood up as he responded, “Gotcha. Beast mode.”

He fell on all fours and started heading back towards the cargo bay, watching curiously as Cecaelia tasted a trail of fluid he could’ve sworn wasn’t there before. His curiosity didn’t take long to turn into unrest.

Wait.. Pleh! It taste like..Netherzarian mech fluid.

He had no idea what that meant, but apparently she did. Maybe she was on to something.

He suddenly flinched when she screamed and disappeared into the room off the side of the hallways.

“Steelclaw, terrorize!” he shouted instinctively. Before he was fully transformed, he was already reaching for his gauss rifle. It was held firmly at eye level in both of his arms by the time the final pieces of his two modes froze in place.

Cecaelia is everything alright? Is someone else in there?

Cecaelia!... That name.. and now this.. Er.. you guys know I said Starshadow went under a mutation? Cecaelia also had the same mutation.. caused by a parasite. Supposedly the thing lived in their sparks.. but I never found evidence of it. So.. I'm thinking you may want to get your guns ready..

Steelclaw stared intensely ahead at closed door in front of him.

“Onyx, open the door, I’ll go in,” he volunteered. “Be behind me- weapon drawn.”

* * *

Dinobot sheathed his sword onto his back once Glowstick left the scene. He supposed it was for the better that they had agreed to end their conflict, but he had been prepared for a battle, so it was decidedly unfulfilling for it to finish so peacefully.

He picked his shield off the ground, then transformed to beast mode wordlessly, before heading off towards the other Maximals. But they met him on the way.

Wintersong had suffered considerable damage, he observed. It was admirable that she had not yet fallen into stasis lock, but perhaps that was going to happen still. Of course, he wasn’t normally one to offer compliments to his teammates- it was an action reeking of Maximal sentiment. So he said nothing.

Hey, you guys okay?"

Rattrap, if he truly felt inclined to inquire about the condition of walking soldiers, should have directed his question specifically at Wintersong. If Dinobot had been dragging himself across the soil with a mere two claws, he still would not have bothered to discuss his injuries with the vermin.

Rattrap, what's wrong?

A rather peculiar response for her to give… What was she seeing that he was not?

Think we're alright, Frilla seemed shaken up and well I shouldn't be transforming outside the Axalon that's for sure. What about you two?

Dinobot suppressed the urge to growl. But he was curious about why Frilla was worried for Rattrap, so he listened intently when the rodent spoke up.

Uh... Well, I... Starshadow kept attacking me. She had me pinned on the ground, and since she had nearly taken my head off earlier, I thought I was in real trouble. I mean, we all know how psychotic she is, right? So... So I slapped one of my little bombs on her and shot her to get her off me and... and I think I... killed her.

So, the vermin was prone to war-guilt in spite of his normal impudence. Dinobot would have found this fact (being as it was, a weakness) something to ridicule since he habitually looked for that which could be used to demean the Maximal. But the nature of Rattrap’s regret made it something which could cause trouble on the battlefield. It would be better, then, to attempt to alleviate him of his guilt than to abuse that guilt’s existence.

As he was formulating a response, Frilla spoke up. He was interested to hear what another former Predacon’s opinion would be…

Rattrap it was self defense…

Good…

…you had no way of knowing that would happen. Starshadow was a tough cat but even she had her limits, you can't help what happens all the time.

Far too soft an opinion- killing his opponent was merely nothing to be ashamed of, whether he had intended to do it or not. Still, what Frilla proposed was probably the only argument Rattrap could relate with.

Dinobot thought he had read at one point or another that Frilla had never chosen a faction on Cybertron. Why had she first chosen to be a Predacon when she came to Earth?

Yeah, but we ain't supposed to kill anyone! That's not what we stand for. All our actions reflect on Optimus and how he leads us. If they don't come after me for this, they'll be after him, moreso than they already are. It was stupid of me. I shoulda just only shot her. Look, I know what you mean, Frills, but because of what I did, accidental or not depending on who's lookin' at it, it might have some serious consequences.

Rattrap I can tell you now there are may be very few who liked Starshadow but Cecaelia was close to her it seemed. Sonar might just thank you for ridding of his nuisance.

Dinobot supposed that warning Rattrap which Predacons might now come after him was rather wise.

But he still doubted that Rattrap’s guilt had been relieved.

“I understand,” he began, swallowing back the word “vermin”, “that you joined the Axalon crew intending to explore the galaxy. But this is, beyond all argument, a war. If you truly believe in the cause you now find yourself fighting for, then you are not entitled, but rather made responsible to confront and stop the individual actions of the enemy. In this specific situation, you had to keep yourself and your comrades alive in the face of Starshadow’s attack. And that is all you were doing. I don’t suppose I can force you into believing that intentional killing is acceptable in war, but it is simply unreasonable to blame yourself for a death you did not intend, even if you do not stop to consider the fact that it was brought upon a foe that most assuredly would have destroyed you if given the opportunity.

“As for your actions having serious consequences, I am certain they will. But they are the natural results of warfare. Do you not realize that Megatron wants all of you Maximals dead? You and especially Optimus are already targets. And while I confess that some of the more docile Predacons might now pursue you more diligently, as you suspect, the proper response for that will merely be courage and tactical competence.”

Dinobot took stock of the grounds near the Axalom as he, Rattrap and Frilla came near. It appeared a battle had taken place given the indentations in the dust, the two scorch marks burned into the ground and the collection of shrapnel littering the area. He was curious to know what had transpired.

((OOC:
Step 1.) Take a few days to catch up
Step 2.) Write for a few hours.
Result: Post-splosion.))

[una]

((OOC: I had an writer's itch like you did, Phoenix, just now and I just had to write this. Also, I couldn't believe they couldn't go. ))

As the CR chamber worked on her spark chamber, the pulsing ball of white energy increased its pace, resonating a solid beat for the sensors checking her status periodically to make sure everything was normal.

Down, but certainly not out of touch with what was going on. Because of who she was and the training she had achieved for many years, the act of both that gave her a great gift and a great curse, depending on the individual, she never was really gone. Yes, she was in repairs but she wasn't either. Something that was infallible and untameable lingered around the crew.

It was her. Her presence, standing beside each one of them like a comforting hand or a guardian angel. Each one of her comrades, friends, and family she called them all were experiencing different reactions, emotions towards the situation that had plagued them moments before, still intensifiying the environment within the Axalon. Tension was in the air with mixtures of fury, uncertainty, disgust, and anxiety. Some had calmed down while others were still in limbo, unsure. Some refocusing their emotions, composing themself to appear strong and optimistic like their leader, Optimus, was. She had known for some time his growing interest in her and she had felt the same way, showing it with her subtle movements. But this was all very dangerous territory for both of them, especially if Megatron or any other Predacons figured it out, and also, the fact that, in her position, Optimus and along with everyone else didn't know about the bonds she creates with them, the bonds formed through the fires of battles, trust, friendship, and love. Anything that happened to them... she would know immediately. It was a risk yet to her, it was well worth it. Of course, it was all in Optimus' court now and whatever happened, she will support any decision he makes.

Doing what she could do, she hoped that her presence of warmth could soothe the tormented souls,keeping everyone in a cool, calm demeanor right now--she could feel Nemesis' too and never holding any enmity towards anyone, her spark sent a wave of reassurance that she won't experience any pain or torture from them.

It was then she sensed Rattrap's group coming back and the deep regret he was feeling, touching their sparks as well. She hoped to radiate her warmth towards them as well.

It was in this state that she was in that she could experience the world and couldn't help but feel that the world was talking to her, telling her something in its own language as loud as it called at her. The callings were up to the sky, a rock, a fear... a message.

The message was connected to her vision. An idea had popped inside but then it was blocked.

She kept her focus on everyone, continuing to comfort them as she could.

[Wildfire94]

Onyx looked towards the other two mechs, not liking the sound of having to be on alert for something they had missed. Grabbing his Friction Rifle, his pistol being a last resort, he carefully grabbed the handle to open the door,"Be ready." Onyx told them then pulled open the door and aimed for the inside, expecting something to jump out at them. It really felt like a human horror movie and they were the unexpected victims waiting to get their processors eaten by some strange creature. Hopefully that was just an exaggeration and not a proven fact. They would find out soon enough for whatever got Cecaelia surely couldn't be this dumb to stay without reason.

[Optimal Optimus Primal]

(( OOC: Sorry for the hold up, guys, but I'm back. Is everyone ready? Here we go! ))

"Rattrap I can tell you now there are may be very few who liked Starshadow but Cecaelia was close to her it seemed. Sonar might just thank you for ridding of his nuisance."

Who cared what Sonar would think? That bat bothered Rattrap almost as much as Starshadow did. But he understood what Frilla was saying. She'd know them better than he would.

"Wintersong you might as well go ahead of us and wait your turn for the CR chamber, but watch yourself."

"Got it."

The rodent watched Wintersong take off to the Axalon. He didn't think there would be any more surprise attacks from the Preds today but he still hoped she wouldn't run into any trouble. She had a history of doing that, although it wasn't always intentional. It was mostly because she wanted to help her teammates. While the rest of them continued walking, Rattrap was surprised to finally hear Dinobot chime in about the matter.

“I understand,” “that you joined the Axalon crew intending to explore the galaxy. But this is, beyond all argument, a war. If you truly believe in the cause you now find yourself fighting for, then you are not entitled, but rather made responsible to confront and stop the individual actions of the enemy. In this specific situation, you had to keep yourself and your comrades alive in the face of Starshadow’s attack. And that is all you were doing. I don’t suppose I can force you into believing that intentional killing is acceptable in war, but it is simply unreasonable to blame yourself for a death you did not intend, even if you do not stop to consider the fact that it was brought upon a foe that most assuredly would have destroyed you if given the opportunity. “As for your actions having serious consequences, I am certain they will. But they are the natural results of warfare. Do you not realize that Megatron wants all of you Maximals dead? You and especially Optimus are already targets. And while I confess that some of the more docile Predacons might now pursue you more diligently, as you suspect, the proper response for that will merely be courage and tactical competence.”

Looking up at the raptor with his beaty black eyes, Rattrap blinked at Dinobot's response as it was both honest and respectable. And he was right. His perspective on the situation opened his eyes and it was exactly what Rattrap needed to hear from a true soldier of war, along with Frilla's words of comfort. Nodding at Dinobot, the rat's demeanor appeared to change a little and he felt better, not saying another word about it. Then their little group came upon the aftermath of the battle that Feralnight had mentioned earlier that had taken place at the Axalon.

After blowing a whistle and pausing to view the damage, Rattrap said, "Man. Guess we better head inside and find out what's goin' on." With that, he walked to the lift and went up inside, finding everyone at the command center who seemed to be gathering for a meeting. He transformed to robot mode and made his way around the others before finding a spot, standing and folding his arms over his chest after he had examined the bite marks in his neck with his finger tips and finding that they had since stopped bleeding.

-----

"They'll here shortly Optimus, but a few of them are injured as well." "They ran into some trouble with the Levianthan."

Optimus glanced at Feralnight as she reported and gave her a nod to acknowledge what she said before he went back to wrapping his hand. Just at that moment, Aurora approached him and gently took his hand and the bandaging and did a much better job wrapping it for him than he was. Looking down at her, Primal watched the white ermine Fuzor and allowed her to take his hand without any fuss. As she finished and stepped back quietly returning to Ironclaw's side, he managed a light smile and said softly, "Thank you, Aurora." His wounded hand pounded, aching relentlessly, but as he felt a warmth and a sense of calmness and peace from an unseen presence, Optimus suddenly and curiously looked in the direction of Whitegrazer's CR chamber. How...? As furious as he was about everything several moments ago, Whitegrazer still managed to cool him down even when she wasn't physically there beside him. Just as well, Aurora's gentle touch of applying minor medical attention to him like Nightmist would have also warmed his spark. Although he felt calmer, now was the time to ignore his throbbing hand and stand before his Maximals to speak to them.

While he gathered his thoughts, he overheard Icebreaker's conversation with Rhinox and gave a quiet sigh of sadness for Whitegrazer. She shouldn't have been that close. She shouldn't have engaged Nemesis. But it had been all over now, and all he could do was hope she would recover quickly. He also saw Cheetor enter the large room, and Wintersong not long after him who looked almost as bad as Whitegrazer. He frowned at her appearance, but at least she had come back in one piece.

"Whoa you guys alright?" "Maximize." "Rattrap, Frilla, and DInobot will be here in a minute Optimus."

"I think we've all seen better days," Optimus commented quietly at the white tigress. He was going to ask her to sit this one out and get some repairs due to her current condition but since she had transformed and didn't seem to want to disappoint him, he knew she was probably well aware of what she could handle by now which didn't seem to be life-threatening at the moment. Still, she was clearly in a lot of pain. Counting the injuries today was beginning to weigh on the Maximal leader.

It was then that Frilla, Dinobot and Rattrap showed up. At least they didn't look too bad. He was curious as to what took so long and what happened, but he would ask that soon enough. With everyone finally together, save for Airazor and Tigatron who were far off on patrol ((and Valkyrie, and Orcariner but I assume Alak can just make him present in his next post and be a part of the meeting, and Saber-Fang, but since the previous episode wasn't finished, I have no idea where she would be now)), Optimus hesitated beginning the debriefing as his red optics thoughtfully moved slowly across everyone else's in the room. It seemed after every battle now, more and more Maximals came back to him with greater injuries. He feared what the direction this war leading to, and the next time he might lose another crew member, another friend. He didn't sign up for this.

As they waited for their commanding officer to speak, he didn't know where to start. So much had happened that day. He hadn't even been filled in by some of the other events yet that the other Maximals were involed with. Perhaps it was better to begin with the brighter news. "I'm sure everyone is aware by now that we have a few new faces with us," Optimus said firmly as he stood up straight, cupping his bandaged hand in his other hand behind his back. "Aurora, who was activated this morning and found herself a unique Fuzor beast mode much like Feralnight's. And, Feralnight, if you and Airazor would be so kind to give Aurora some aerial lessons, I think she would benefit from them greatly." His eye contact had settled on Feralnight before shifting to Aurora and giving her a quick nod. The sooner she had some training, the sooner he'd feel more confident letting her roam the great outdoors and battling Predacons. After addressing the two females, Optimus moved on. "Ironclaw had arrived by a Star Hopper, but I believe it was confescated by the Predacons?" He glanced at the honey badger in search of re-inforcement for his presumption. Primal knew it was either in their possession or it had been destroyed, otherwise the Maximals would have it. "I expect to get more details on that. Arachnitron is currently getting repairs in one of the CR chambers. She crashed on this planet in her escape pod but she has a rather unique situation that I feel everyone should be made aware of, so listen up. Arachnitron is functioning with both Maximal and Predacon programming. This means that her Maximal programming can be in control of her thoughts and actions, but in the next moment, her Predacon programming will try to take over, and it is extremely unpredictable. As a result, I have decided to help her and offered her shelter in our base and my protection; it's too dangerous to leave her alone out there. I warn all of you to be cautious around her; give Arachnitron her space and do not antagonize her. She needs patience, kindness and tolerance right now, not teasing and ridicule. I was attempting to reason with her Predacon programming before Nemesis made her attack on us. I can't say for sure that I made any lead-way with Arachnitron, but if she ever needs to be restrained, I would recommend freezing her with some ice or subduing her with a sedative. I don't want to harm her unless it's absolutely necessary. She has also declined any assistance on resolving her dilemma. At least for the time being. Now, going back to Nemesis' attack out side of our base, her desperate attempt to terminate us has resulted in Arachnitron's injuries that she sustained, as well as Whitegrazer's critical condition." Optimus finally came to a pause, recalling the white equine's damaged body and her spark exposed to the dangers beyond her shredded armor. It shouldn't have happened to her. She shouldn't be in that anguish. He purposely failed to inform them of his mangled hand since he didn't see it anywhere near as signifcant as the injuries the black widow and the mare had sustained. It was not important. Even Wintersong's wounds were more important than his right now, but she seemed to be managing. She should have remained in beast mode. As he continued, his voice grew colder. "Every encounter with Nemesis has been completely reckless and ruthless and I've had enough of it. While she was knocked out by one of her own grenades missfiring, I have instructed Orcariner to take her and lock her up in our brig, deeming her our first prisoner in this war. No one is to speak to her without my consent. Is that understood?" The Maximal leader looked over all of their expressions. "She will be released by my command only, and when I see fit."

Optimus then turned his attention fully on the Maximal Spy. "Now, Rattrap, judging by your team's injuries and that you have returned empty-handed, I take it your mission did not go well?"

"To say the least," Rattrap said, looking at Primal. He had no idea how to word what had happened. "Uh, the protoform from the stasis pod was a Predacon. Whether he came like that or was reprogrammed by the Preds, I don't know, but he's basically Whitegrazer's evil twin. He looks just like 'er except he's black, and has one nasty friction rifle. Calls himself Onyx. Fortunately, he's more like Steelclaw and seemed like he just wanted ta chat. On the other hand, Starshadow was tryin' ta run off with his stasis pod, so Wintersong got the jump on Onyx when Dinobot went after Starshadow. After that, all heck broke loose. I lost track of Dinobot while Frilla and I engaged Onyx because then Wintersong and Starshadow were in a cat fight, but I think Onyx underestimated us." Rattrap managed at small grin at the frilled lizard. "When the Leviathan showed up, Dinobot took on Glowstick, Frilla took down Onyx, and I went after the pod. Uh, since we were outnumbered, I figured it was better that if we couldn't have the pod, then nobody could, so I slapped on one of my charges while the Leviathan fired at me. Then I got tackled by Blackarachnia, I saw Frilla fall down from the Leviathan, I blew up the stasis pod, regrouped with Frilla and told everybody ta retreat back ta base. But then Starshadow tackled me and bit my neck before Wintersong knocked her off. And just as we were about ta leave, Starshadow got me again, pinning me on the ground. So...," the rat started but paused. Dinobot's words came back to him and he took a deep breath to regain his confidence. "So I stuck one of my bombs on her and shot 'er in the side to get 'er off me. I got away just before she was blown into a hundred pieces, like Waspinator always does. Only she wasn't pullin' herself back together. As soon as Glowstick found out what had happened and broke away from Dinobot, he let us go with a warning, so we booked it outta there. It was pretty chaotic."

Studying Rattrap, Optimus understood what he was saying, and could sense the remorse in his voice. But Primal was also taken aback by his report. "So, Starshadow may very well have been killed. That's very unfortunate. No one should have to meet their demise on this planet in this war." Yet there was a greater chance for someone to die for the cause they were fighting for every day now. He bowed his head for a moment. What kind of war was this again? To conquer the universe? To kill the Maximals? To acquire as much energon as one possibly could for power? Or was all of this simply because of the Golden Disk that Megatron had stolen? Primal grieved for Starshadow and the Predacons' loss. It shouldn't be this way. They shouldn't be stranded here like this. And the Commander left it at that. He didn't punish or drill Rattrap because Optimus saw it the same way Dinobot had already explained it. It was still a shame, though. Lives were beig lost because of this pitiless war. Lives! Just as Nightmist's had been taken away. Wintersong almost lost her's if not for Glowstick's mercy. And now Whitegrazer almost lost her's this very day because of Nemesis' actions. The Beast Wars were getting out of control, if there was ever control of it in the first place. Whether or not Starshadow's death would provoke the Predacons to be even more dangerous toward the Maximals, they would have to wait and see and take it in stride. But the stress, the heavy battles, and watching his crew return to him so badly injured every time was taking its toll on the leader. How long was this going to go on?

Back to addressing the entire group, Optimus asked, "Does anyone have anything else to add, or any questions?" giving the others present the opportunity to speak.

Rattrap blinked at Optimus, a little surprised that he wasn't going to receive any repremand for his actions. Maybe Optimus thought he had done the right thing in his climaxing situation. Maybe he saw it the same way Dinobot told him. Either way, the gorilla was right. People were dying in this war that shouldn't even be happening. Was Megatron to blame for all of this? He was the one who stole the Disk, and they had to chase him down to get it back, so here they were. He couldn't imagine the pressure Optimus was under. This was an extremely dangerous war, getting worse by the day, and their leader had begun as a Captain for an exploration crew. What a long way he had come. If they ever got home back to Cybertron and Optimus wasn't promoted to a higher rank, Rattrap would have a few words with those officials.

(( OOC: I feel like I'm forgetting something, or I missed explaining something... Hm. Took me three hours or so to type this, so I apologize if I missed something. Tired of typing now. ))

[New Moon]

Feralnight looked as Rattrap's team arrived, surprised by the injuries WIntersong had sustained and that the tigeress would risk transforming with the sure threat of stasis lock. Sometimes that cat was stubborn enough to ignore the obvious pain she was in, though the fuzor quickly looked back at Optimus with a nod of acknowledgement to giving Aurora a few tips on flying. SHe was actually happy to see another fuzor in the group since for a while it felt strange, still did in fact with having a mismatched form of body parts even though it gave some advantage for both land and air. Listening to the rest of the debriefing it still hit hard of all that had occurred today, the near losses today was hitting home to the MAximals all the time and the war was obviously getting out of control.

Frilla quietly listened and glanced at Rattrap with a brief smile as he mentioned how they had taken out Onyx with much trouble, which in truth she thought it would have been much harder with someone who had some firepower to him. Though certainly no where close to Steelclaw. Transforming to robot mode the frilled lizard thought for a moment and spoke up a bit,"Optimus I did want to ask something." She said and looked at their leader,"I wanted to ask if I could get some medical training from those who know it here. I did some field repairs when with the Predacons, learned a bit from Glowstick, it might help in the long run." She suggested not knowing if he'd really be up to the idea but it might help them later on.

Though the frilled lizard looked over her shoulder as if she felt something there, a warmth even touching her spark. Was that Whitegrazer? And if it was how was she able to do that? Frilla had come to see Whitegrazer as a great friend and she was concerned for the white mare's condition and hoped she would survive those injuries, then again Whitegrazer had always seemed a tough bot despite not wielding so much weapons.

[Wintersong]

Wintersong closed her optics as the pain continued to her systems, warns telling her she was at a risk of stasis lock if she didn't revert to beast mode now. Ignoring these warnings the tigeress became more interested in the debriefing and listened closely, which much of what she heard made the tigeress shudder to think just how much more destruction Nemesis was capable of doing. She herself had gone face to face with nemesis briefly which didn't last long before she blew up the storage facility, the same one Aurora had been in when it had been Nightmist's body frozen to prevent the nanos inside it from spreading. When Rattrap was getting around to today's mission for his team before Wintersong though of the fight with Starshadow, quite a fight it had been but in the end the panther had lost this one.

Though Wintersong opened her optics and glanced towards the CR chambers wondering if the two femmes inside them would come out in better shape after this day, and she wondered how Arachnitron would settle in once everything had settle today. Though her thoughts became deistracted once more as the warnings ensured to where the tigeress was growing quite agitated,"Beast mode." She muttered and transformed, wincing at the movements and she sat back on her haunches. This was going to be a long night for repairs.

[Phoenix]

(ooc: .... O.o Long post is loooong lol.. Trying to give yourself hand pain to sympathize with Oppy? I posted a cure for hand ache in the general stuff forum!)

Aurora watched in silence as all the other Maximals started gathering for the debriefing. They came in all different sizes and alternative modes, ranging from the extremely large whale she'd come to find out was called Orcariner, to someone a quarter of his height like herself. Some of them appeared to be injured, although none as badly as Whitegrazer and Arachnitron had been.

Judging by Primal's recount of today's events, it had been a rather hectic time for the Maximals. They had gained 3 new members, provided Arachnitron chose to stay with them, and nearly lost two of their own, perhaps more judging by the injuries the away team had upon returning. A quick look around proved that the unknown female Orcariner had carried inside was not among them, so Aurora figured she had to be this 'Nemesis' that Optimus mentioned. Why the Predacon would openly attack them like that, the fuzor did not understand.

She cringed a bit as Primal asked Feralnight and someone named AirRazor that she needed flying lessons, moving a little further back so she was partially covered from anyone's gaze by Ironclaw's larger frame. Not that she didn't think Optimus was right, she would just have preferred he did not mentioned it in front of everybody since some of the Maximals had not witnessed her little crash landing earlier.

Oh well..


----

Subject 1047 ran as fast as her legs could possibly carry her through the bumpy terrain. At some point she fell, landing face down in the mud before she scrambled back on her feet again.

Have to go faster.. Get away..


Behind her several guards were in hot pursuit after discovering the scientist she had stabbed with one of his own tools in her desperate attempt to get away.

Unable to transform due to a security precaution they always took at the facility where all subjects had their transformation circuits disabled, she'd been forced to take her chances on foot. But on a vast, desolate planet with only the base behind her to take cover in, her hopes of escape were rapidly falling apart. Nevertheless she continued running, never looking back to see if they were catching up.

In the distance she could see the sunrise, finding the warm rays from this planet's sun to be quite rewarding, renewing her hopes of finally escaping. The sunshine felt so warm and soothing against her armor, like no other sunrise before it.

She almost did not notice the sound of gunfire. Not until..

The female collapsed on the ground, writhing in agony. She grabbed a hold of her wounded thigh, pressing against the gaping hole that she was bleeding from. In an act of desperation she grabbed a long leaf from one of the local plants, wrapping it around her thigh to stop the bleeding. Shakily she stood up, limping her way towards the sunrise.. towards what she perceived as freedom at the time.

The next shot penetrated her shoulder, once again knocking her to the ground. Exhausted, in severe pain, she rolled over onto her back and gazed up at the sky. Part of the sky was still dark with shimmering stars, while the other half showed the various colors of this beautiful sunrise. It was the most beautiful sight she had ever laid eyes on. With a longing sigh that came out as more of a whimper, she reached her arm out as if she could touch the sky.

At that moment two of the guards had caught up with her, tossing themselves over her and pinning her down. More guards and a few scientists followed.

The two guards forced her on her feet, holding one arm each as the scientists proceeded to look her over. One of them pointed to the large wound in her thigh. It appeared to be healing itself before their very eyes.

"It would appear we made some progress," one of the scientists remarked to the other as they started walking back to the facility. The two guards maintained their grip on the female, hauling her between them. At this point she did not have the strength to fight them.

Once they had her back in the lab, they examined her. And the results seemed to excite them to no end. The nanobots had merged with the female's own circuitry and were now reproducing themselves so their number was ever-growing. This phase of the experiments was over. Now they needed to test to which extent their new creation was able to regenerate.

[Alak]

Orcariner approached the bridge as Optimus was in the middle of introducing the new teammates. He chose not to enter the command center itself, fearing that his large body would distract everyone from Primal's speech.

Aurora, Ironclaw, and Arachnid...

The killer whale quickly registered their signatures into his memory so that they would no longer appear as anonymous Maximal insignias on his radar. The news of Arachnid's dual-programming was a bit unnerving, however. Perhaps she was the one who had emitted that enigmatic Predacon signature earlier prior to Orcariner's appearance. It seemed that her transformations between the two personalities was capable of fooling radars.

I should probably remember to register her Predacon signature the next time she undergoes the change.

Orcariner continued to listen even as Rattrap gave his own debriefing. The news of Starshadow's apparent destruction was a surprise, although, the orca could not say that he was happy to hear that a foe had perished. Then again, he had his doubts that the panther's spark had really been extinguished. Starshadow had been subjected to punishment before. Orcariner recalled Icebreaker telling him that he had impaled the Predacon into a tree. Orcariner himself had stepped on her as well as kicked her like a ball in previous encounters. Granted, being blown apart was worse than the recalled injuries. Yet, other Predacons had survived equal or worse situations.

[starshadow]

Nothing jumped out from anywhere. There was only silence, a pool of mech fluid, a few slash marks on the wall and a motionless Cecaelia.

Few moments later, the femme's optics flashed out silver and got her arms and legs in a cat ready to kill. She hissed, showing her new long fangs. She tackled Onyx and bit his neck, sucking his mech fluid.

((I has fun plan for Glowstick's team and Maxies. Be ready, We'll be playing "Catching" soon. ))

[Phoenix]

(Ooc: it might just be that I'm only half awake right now, but I'm not sure I understand Starshadow's last post. What happened?)

[starshadow]

((Surprise attack. Snakey is in Cece's body, controlling the poor girl.))

[Mystrea]

Ironclaw noticed as more Maximals arrived to the command centre. This was quite a big operation, but he had faith in Optimus. He knows of his past and he had no worries.

Ironclaw stood up stright and put his hands behind his back as soon as optimus addressed him he listen to Optimus's version of his story and nodded in agreement.

He smiled when Optimus mentioned Aurora getting flying lessons and her immediate reacion was to hide behind him.

Ironclaw listened to Rattrap intently, he mentioed Starshadow's name. The first transformer he met on this planet. then he heard him say that he killed. He thought about it for a moment thinking that Optimus was right. But then he thought that she was a Predacon, after all. This is war and there are always casulties. Better her than a fellow maximal.

[Wildfire94]

Onyx watched the room for a long moment, before he stepped barely into the door way with his rifle drawn and ready to fire, his gaze on Cecaelia. She seemed unconscious from whatever had been in here and whatever that was hadn't seemed happy. Though he froze as the marine femme suddenly got up in a cat like killer pounce, and boy those fangs didn't make her look that inviting as before which the sudden tackle made the horse mech stumble back, landing on his back. "Hey! Cecaelia snap out of it!" He called and Onyx grabbed her arms, bringing a foot under her stomach before he pushed upwards to flip her over his head and land outside the room in full view of Glowstick and Steelclaw. Though the move made the teeth tear into his metal skin and he covered the wound with his hand as he stood and grabbed the Friction Rifle that he had dropped from before,"What the name of Primus is wrong with her?"

[starshadow]

Cecaelia let out a low alien growl and coiled her tentacles around Onyx's arms and legs. What a heavy horse! She slammed him on a wall and dropped him.

Turning to Steelclaw and Glowstick, she spoke in a different dark feminine voice, "A traitor who leaked the secrets of Hell Fang such as this little girl is as good as dead..and so are you both." the the blue tip of her tentacles glowed and fired at their legs. They are going to suffer slowly and painfully.

[Blazemane]

Dinobot listened carefully to Optimus' announcements. As soon as an attack by Nemesis was brought up, he began wondering how the fight had ended, but Optimus made a few others comments before he got to that part.

Every encounter with Nemesis has been completely reckless and ruthless and I've had enough of it. While she was knocked out by one of her own grenades missfiring, I have instructed Orcariner to take her and lock her up in our brig, deeming her our first prisoner in this war.

Optimus clearly was not done saying what he needed to, so Dinobot avoided voicing his objection. But why- he wondered- was she still alive? She was an enemy combatant, and one who had killed one of Primal's own Maximals.

Did he expect to be able to use her to negotiate with Megatron? Dinobot could only hope Optimus wasn't that naive.

No one is to speak to her without my consent. Is that understood? She will be released by my command only, and when I see fit.

Dinobot met Optimus' gaze casually as it passed by him. But already, he was debating whether to listen to his commander's words or not...

((OOC: Will post for Cheetor (if there's anything to say) and Steelclaw later tonight.))