"Computer, display number and location of Predacon intruders," Silverquick ordered.
It took only a nanoclick, and a diagram of the ship appeared, the Predacon signatures clearly labeled. One Predacon was in the quarters area, and two were on the observation deck. Two were in the hall connecting to the bridge, but one of those was already peacefully slumbering, courtesy Jynx. Another Predacon seemed to be entering the computer lab. Lastly, and probably most dangerously, two of the pirates seemed to be heading toward engineering.
Security measures on the observation deck were not tight, and the Predacons appeared to have already locked the area down from that location. It had gone to code red, and was flashing with red light on the diagram. However, there were plenty of measures that could keep the Predacons from reaching engineering, should Silverquick remember how to engage them.
Silverquick sealed off the bridge, then sat down at tactical. I should be able to call up internal defenses from here... he thought. A few keystrokes, and he was rewarded with the proper display; the readout listing the Renegade's anti-intruder systems.
"Computer, secure main engineering with double lock and forcefields, and seal corridor section three-epsilon." The forcefields engaged, trapping the two Predacons in the corridor. Another keystroke, and the knockout gas deployed.
In the corridor, two Predacons looked up...and blinked as the door sealed behind them. They coughed a moment, shared a fearful glance, then dropped.
Letting the other Predacon enter the computer lab, Silverquick sealed that room also, and again activated the knockout gas. "Superimpose location of Maximal crew over Predacon positions," he ordered the computer.
He knew Krunch and Snarler were in the observation lounge; that's where Kitfox had been when Silverquick ordered him taken into custody, and he felt certain the two massive Maximals could hold their own. As to Kitfox... well, he had orders to deliver him to Cerebros Station, but was entertaining serious thoughts about simply dumping the troublesome bot into deep space. Once he knew who was where, Silverquick decided, he'd lend help where it would be most needed. For now, though, his team seemed to be doing well enough. The diagram revealed Digit and Viracide handling facing down the Predacon in their quarters, with Goldstreak also heading to intercept. Velocity and Jynx were battling Predacons in the hallways.
The Kull Tan post loomed large in the viewports, making Silverquick pause. There were eight Predacons on board already, and more could certainly arrive very easily. It made sense to get the ship a safe distance away, so as to only have to deal with the Preds currently on hand. Silverquick stepped over to the helm, slapping the button that he'd set Velocity in front of. A short burst of the main engines, just to give us some distance from the Predacon post...
—LB, AF
"We only want to trade," said Snarler, turning to face the Predacons still on the observation deck. He aimed at one of the subordinates with his shoulder-mounted guns but still keept his fusion gun pointed in the direction of Starscream, who he new all-too-well about.
"It's your call," said Snarler to the leader.
Krunch's shoulder-mounted Missile Launcher began targeting the remaining Predacons in the area, but he kept his Plasma Cannon trained on the leader Pred. He didn't believe a word that Kitfox said.
Starscream? Right, and Grimlock's my uncle! he thought, shaking his head, then looked over to Snarler.
"These tin-horns don't have the processors to make a call, Peace-Pipe! I say we try to see how many we can take with us!!" he said, almost as a challenge to the Preds.
The stand-off occured for what seemed like a megacycle. The lead Predacon and one pirate remained on the deck, and both had heavy weapons trained on Maximals that had heavy weapons trained on them.
Suddenly, two occurances at once: the ship lurched back into speed, and a call, from a snarling saurian voice, blared over the Predacon leader's communicator.
"Commander Moltor, the Maximals have activated internal defenses. Request permission to summon reinforcements."
"Can't you idiots do ANYTHING right?" He could no longer see out the windows, but the commander knew they were losing distance from the station. "REQUEST DENIED!"
Kitfox grinned, and leaned back on his drawn sword. Moltor pulled out a secondary blaster, smaller than the other but no less deadly, and pointed it at the defiant Maximal.
"Whose side are YOU on?"
For a moment, the situation appeared to be a standstill, with both sides evenly matched, and for a nanosecond, Snarler took his attention off Starscream.
With no warning, the small bronze 'bot sprang into the air, flashing his sword. Rather than attacking the Predacons, he slashed the barrel directly off Snarler's gun, and, still in midjump, transformed into a half-fox, half-jet mode. Turning about in midair on the deck, he rained laserfire down upon the two Maximals.
"Pit, he's FAST!" exclaimed the smaller Predacon, diving aside as the jet streamed through.
Bringing up his arms to protect himself with his arm-mounted shields, Snarler turned to Krunch. "Okay, big guy, perhaps they don't want to talk. Mind if we just bash them instead, and see if they are willing to give it a go afterwards?"
The Predacon commander laughed, and fired two shots at Krunch.
One of the Predacon's shots grazed Krunch's missile launcher as he ducked from the blasts, which only angered him further. Upon hearing Snarler's comment, his expression changed.
"Finally!! It's SHOWTIME!!!" he yelled. With that, Krunch returned fire at the Predacon leader with two shots from his plasma cannon, his missile launcher fired at the other Pred. He looked at Kitfox/Starscream and spoke again.
"You better pray that we lose, traitor, because if we win, I'm gonna take you apart bolt by bolt!!" he vowed.
Oh, I'm shaking in my screws, Starscream wished he could respond. Instead of a verbal retort, he returned more fire, shooting four lasers at Krunch from mounted guns on each of his wings.
The smaller Predacon dove aside, barely skimmed by the missile that cracked into a wall behind him. He tucked, rolled, and pulled out a fusion pistol, which he shot twice at Snarler. Though the small blasts connected, they proved ineffective against the dinosaur's shielded arms.
Snarler looked at Krunch and sighed. "Perhaps I should have chosen my words slightly more carefully," he said, blocking a few more shots before returning his attention to the Predacon leader.
"Sorry, bud, but you could poke someone's eye out with those!" Snarler shouted, and fired both his shoulder mounted laserbeams at his target.
Snarler's shots were well-aimed, and the first laser shot the smaller gun directly out of Moltor's hand. Acting quickly, he drew his other hand back, and managed to hold on to his larger cannon. Just then, one of Krunch's shots connected with his back. He gave a quick shout. "NATURALLY, the MAXIMALS double-team me. And they say there is no honor among THIEVES."
He shifted modes, making his unusual beast mode apparent. Not quite a dragon, not quite a dinosaur, he was more like a heavy, alien pterodactyl. Opening his throat at Krunch, he fired a long, blue energy beam from his throat.
—DT, AF, JA
In contrast to the rude greeting the Maximal ship had recieved, the Predacon bridge was hailed by a calm female voice from somewhere inside the station.
"Good day, Commander Stormclaw. We have recieved your requests, and you have permission to dock. We don't get much nobility in this section of the galaxy. It will be our pleasure to welcome you to Kull Tan."
The Predacon commander sat in his chair on the bridge. His eyes seemed to fire up at these words, but no one noticed. Slowly, he moved his hand towards his console and enabled his commlink. In an equally controlled voiced, he answered, "Our gratidude, Kull Tan, we appreciate your hospitality."
Stormclaw hesitated before continuing, pondering on how to confer his thoughts.
"Oh, and Kull Tan, our scanners indicate quite some commotion outside your station. I trust you are... in control of the situation?"
Stormclaw enjoyed the irony of his played ignorance as he sat back in his chair, waiting for the Trading Post's reply.
"Well in control, sir," the station calmly replied. "We are preparing the dock for your arrival."
—AF, DN
Digit tried hard to maintain her control, but failed. How dare the Predacon think of her as mere property? "I'm not for sale, lizard brain! As I told you, we are here to trade; what else do you expect a lone Maximal ship to be doing here? Challenging a Predacon station head on?"
She looked at the Pred, who was a bit taken aback by the sudden burst from the female. But she wasn't done yet, and even took a few steps towards the intruder as she continued.
"Are you so simple that you imagine you can just board our ship like that? Are Predacons really that savage? You could as well have blown up our ship with a few missiles eh? Nice, fast and clean, no questions asked, thank you very much! Oh no, wait—of course that's not an option; you Predacons want to salvage every loose screw you can lay your filthy hands on, am I right?"
Digit now stood in front of the lizard and with her index finger tapped repeatedly on his chest. She blazed, "You'd trade your Maker for a single cube of energon if you had to, isn't that so, Pre-da-con?"
The Predacon gave Digit a dark grin, then clamped his hand around hers. He squeezed. "You have spunk, don't you? Spunk can be good."
Viracide, heard general mayhem coming from the observation deck, there was a battle going on. He then quickly turned his attention back to the Predacon and Digit. "The only thing the these Predacons understand is violence." He realized the Predacons were not going to be peaceful from the sounds he heard in the hall near the bridge. "We don't have time for this. You help us now, or you'll be wearing my laser fire." He said as he dug the tips of his swords on the Predacon's skin.
As the swords made their first marks, Viracide's adversary grimaced. Still holding tight to Digit, the Predacon turned to face Viracide, and stared him down. "You're in charge of this operation, are you? If you really want to trade, PEACEFULLY, I'd be happy to give you both a ride to the Post..."
Digit eyed Viracide, then the Predacon. Next, she loosened her flexed arm, and took a deep breath.
"Very well," she decided, before Viracide could respond. "Neither of us gains anything if we continue struggling. I'll come with you, so we can talk to your commanders on the station."
Viracide returned the Predacon's stare. "This is a peaceful mission." Viracide lowered his swords. "Call off the Predacons in the observation deck, and get them all to the bridge, so you can talk with our commander about trading I'm sure we have things you may want. But stop your attack." Viracide headed toward the Observation deck hoping the Pred would follow. The lizard merely snickered at the rush of demands, and looked back at Digit.
Digit paused, looked away, then resumed. "It probably is pushing my luck here, but would you mind if I contacted my captain through the comm system, to discuss a cease fire?"
The Predacon chuckled. "How about your gung-ho boyfriend makes that call?" he asked. He reached down, and lifted Digit up, slinging her like a sack over his shoulder. "Meanwhile, I'll take my collateral." Carrying his prize, he turned back for the Predacons' makeshift entrance on the Observation Deck.
Viracide stopped in this tracks to the observation deck; he shrugged his shoulder and shook his head. This is not going to be easy, he thought. Turning back to the Predacon, he explained, "Look, Pred, first of all, I'm not her boyfriend. Next, unless you give me one of your girls for MY collateral, you'll have to think of something other than Digit. And lastly I doubt Digit's Orb would like you taking her away..."
Small footsteps echoed down the hallway, and soon Velocity rounded the corner of the hallway, machine guns in hand. The...oddness that he saw before him caused him to grind to a halt and look to Viracide in confusion, ears perked. Here was a Predacon, with Digit over his shoulder—and super pyrokenetic Viracide wasn't doing anything about it. There were also sounds of combat from another room a further ways down the hallway.
Unsure of where to move to, Velocity stepped forward, then backwards, then forwards again, as if doing an odd dance. Now that he was in the vicinity of a bigger Predacon, he didn't feel quite as gung-ho as before. Eventually he just settled for questioning Viracide.
"Right...what's goin' on here? And...there? And...where should I be?" he asked, gesturing the the noises down the hall. He glanced backwards to see if Jynx was following him, but quickly turned his attention to the jellyfish and the Predacon.
Meanwhile, Orb had set in persuit of the Predacon. He was spinning after him, and then in front of him, then around him, all the while making loud noises. Digit appreciated the effort but feared her droid could not really make a difference in this particular encounter. From her uncomfortable position she now saw the little dogbot approaching, then backing off again, then approaching once more. Frankly, both the chihuahua and the droid were making her pretty dizzy.
"Viracide! Velocity! Be a sport here, and teach this Pred some manners will
you?" Digit screamed.
The Predacon stared down Velocity: obviously the most easily intimidated of the bunch. Then, he opened up communications.
The chihuahuabot's ears flicked back and he lowered his guns, stepping
backwards and glancing around, quite happy to break eye contact. "Jyyyyynx,"
he whimpered under his breath.
—DN, BB, AF, LA
Snarler decided that he should leave the leader for Krunch, who seemed to be
relishing the battle. Turning towards the smaller subordinate, he walked towards him, blocking
a few shots with arm shields that were now getting quite badly damaged.
"Why do we have to fight?" he asked. "We only want to trade, not start Great War Four, and this isn't really helping."
Being large meant being a bigger target, but it also meant that Krunch could withstand more attacks. Starscream's four lasers struck Krunch's armor, causing some pain, but no internal damage yet. But Moltor's energy beam hit Krunch square in the chest and knocked the Ultra-size bot off his feet. The blast scrambled his servos temporarily, and smoke rises from his scorched chest. As he regained his footing, Krunch taunted the Preds.
"Is that all you stupid 'Cons got???" he called out as he fired two more rounds at Moltor from his plasma cannon, while his missile launcher released two more missiles also at the prehistoric flyer.
Moltor took the plasma shots square, and tipped backwards in the air. That soldier's resilience was amazing! As a missile streamed over his head and cracked into the ceiling, Moltor prepared another shot. This one WOULD finish him...
His delay proved a mistake, as the second missile, seeking the heat building in his throat, turned course, and knocked him in the jaw. The giant Predacon slammed into the wall, and slid to the floor.
As he shook off the attack and rose to his feet, his radio crackled again.
"These Maxies want to discuss a cease-fire. Should I call off the raid?"
You don't have the AUTHORITY to call off the raid, Splitounge. the Predacon leader mused. "A cease-fire...?" Moltor took a good look at Krunch, singed, but still moving. Just then, he heard a scratching at the deck door behind him. Curious, he punched the button to open the entrance, and a small saurian, injured by Jynx's attacks, burst into the room. Upon seeing his commander's displeased disposition, he qttempted to race for the motorcycle ships. He didn't get far, as Moltor lifted the little beast up by the tail, and looked him in the eye disapprovingly.
Moltor activated his radio, but turned to Krunch as he spoke. "Your Maximals fight well. We'll..." He frowned, shook his head, then spit out a sharp, gold tooth. "...CONSIDER allowing you to dock."
Snarler stood next to the battle-damaged Krunch and listened too the
Predacons talk of a ceasefire. However, for some reason he still didn't
feel that peace was closer. After all Krunch would be initially negotiating,
and he had the negotiating skills of a mega-cannon.
All Snarler could do was aim up at the Predacons remaining weapons and hope
for a miracle. Moving closer to Krunch he whispered, "Today isn't a good
day to die..."
The huge Maximal glared at Moltor and grinned slightly as the Predacon spit out the tooth. Krunch replied in a calmer voice.
"Then I'll CONSIDER that as an invitation!" said the sargeant as he lowered his Plasma Cannon. He then looked over to Snarler and whispered back.
"Take it easy, Peace-Pipe! I'm not always guns-a-blazin! There's a time and a place for everything! Besides, there's no way I'm giving up the lower bunk!!" Krunch said.
"Ok, I trust ya pal. Just remember, I got your back...'n' pretty soon the bunk, too," said Snarler, smiling before lowering his hand weapon in a similar way to Krunch.
"Excellent. Contact your commander," the prehistoric Predacon responded.
Kitfox transformed into robot mode, and rolled his eyes. ...What an amatuer.
—DT, JA, AF
The Predacon commander's half-hearted surrender broadcast clearly over
his counterpart's radio.
Velocity's first response was to raise his optic ridges in surprise. His second
was to groan in dismay. Great—they'd get to dock in with a whole bunch of these
guys! Visions of just what a whole fleet of 'those guys' could do to him and
his friends flashed through his head, making him slip his guns into their
holsters. If this had been a few weeks ago, he would've been a lot more
confident of his ability to deal with Predacons. He'd just have to recall
what he remembered.
"...Thank you very much...sir," Velocity said to the Predacon, trying to come off as polite. Maybe if he was cooperative, they'd leave him alone in the carnage to come. Or at least not consider him a threat, so he could help out his friends when they weren't looking. Unfortunately, the twitch of his
mouth made him look like a sniveling little brat.
Viracide was kind of pleased, but he noticed that the stupid Predacon did not
put down Digit at the arrival of Velocity. "Look, Predacon, put the girl
down, or I'll introduce you to my other collateral." Viracide raised his
swords once more and 'fired' up his spark. Viracide then began to think.
The only way the Preds will halt their attack is if we prove we're stronger
then them. Viracide noticed the Predacon did not put down Digit. "OK, I
gave you your three second warning." With that Viracide dashed toward the
Predacon, pointing one of his swords sideways, aiming to cut off the
arm that carried Digit.
The dogbot winced and the battle action occuring around him, but decided to
keep out of the fighting. He in no way trusted Preds, and for good reason,
since he'd lived among the worst of them. Velocity was just going to let
Viracide finish what he'd started - he was confident the Transmetal 2 would
find a way to whip some butt. There was no reason he should get involved
with such a..powerful looking foe.
"Yeah! Hit 'im good, Viracide sir!" he whooped. It would be nice if Jynx
could come along soon..maybe they could take bets.
The strike hit true, cutting to the Predacon's circuits, though it was
not enough to sever the arm. Digit's would-be kidnapper doubled back with the force of the blow, and held his free hand over his injured shoulder. The femme-bot was not so much released as tossed, and she came to a rough, awkward landing on the hallway floor, rolling over several times before coming to a halt.
She lay on the ground for a few moments, not moving at all. Orb had
maneuvered to her and was now carefully bumping his mechanical body against
her head. At that, she forcefully opened one eye, then quickly shut it
again.
Testing the range of motion of the fingers on the hand of his injured left arm, the Predacon called Spitoungue pulled a tail-shaped club from behind his back with his uninjured right. "And after I played nice? I really ought to do you in for THAT." He made a swing toward Viracide's head.
Jynx arrived at the scene just in time to hear Viracide throw away an
oppurtunity to end the fighting.
Shizzit! Can't that fool see we are at a disadvantage?
He walked towards Digit, who was dropped nearly onto him, and asked if she
was all right.
Velocity's thoughts were no longer on fighting - he rushed over to Digit as
well. "Y-yeah, are yah?" he repeated Jynx's statement, with his ears lowered
in worriment.
"I've... been... better," Digit began, trying to get up only to find her
ankle would not cooperate so easily.
"Eh, you may haveta help her with her..repair stuff, if it's real bad or
somethin'," he said to Jynx, his gaze ocassionally going back to the
fighting, but more concerned with the girl at their feet.
Orb was now hovering before Jynx, and was anxiously nodding. Digit managed
to sit against the wall, then looked up at Jynx who was now kneeled in front
of her. Their eyes met, and for a moment, all pain and commotion seemed to
disappear from her sensors. Then she blinked, and looked away.
Jynx looked down upon the injured Digit, and noticed she was kinda pretty.
But way outta his league, of course, would would she want with a bum like
him.
"Can you walk?" He asked.
He noticed by he painful look in her eyes that she couldn't.
"Velocity," he said to the dogbot, "You stick with Viracide, while I take
Digit to a CR. Though I don't think he actually's gonna need yer help."
The Transmetal laughed in agreement and nodded, though for some reason he
wasn't quite feeling up to battling a Pred that could injure someone his
size just by throwing them. He turned away from the two of them and trotted
as close as he dared to the fighting - which put him about 5 meters from
Jynx and Digit, but not as close to the battle as he had been before.
Despite his internal grievances, he slipped his machine guns out of their
holsters.
Viracide felt quite good at the ensuing battle. He talked to the Predacon to
explain. "I just remembered something about Preds. Their peace has to be
earned!" He used both his swords and set them in a X position to block the
club. Viracide charged up his spark for Spark Force. "Predacon, you want to
surrender, right now, trust me!"
Splitoungue gave a low chuckle. "Sparkly." Seeing both Viracide's hands were occupied, he broke contact with the blades, for just a moment, and brought up his leg to kick at the shining target.
Viracide deep inside felt sorry for the Predacon. Too bad he wouldn't
surrender, his movement with his leg proved it to him. "Bad choice." His
spark shown with energy, as his spark grew brighter, then it focused and
fired outward. It was a specacular site, mostly because one could actually
see the spark firing the spark force. The room was filled with light as the
Force flowed to the Predacon.
Just before his kick could connect, Splitounge's grin turned into a surprised blink, and he was knocked back in a blast of light. He rolled end-over-end, bowling backwards into the Maximals in the hall in the process...
Velocity gave a scream of "INCOMING!" to Jynx, who was holding Digit. He
didn't want his friends to get hurt twice! As he screamed, he lept into the
air, and added "Flight mode!" at which he shifted into his flying doggy
mode. Wasting no time, he jetted straight up, hoping to get away from the
tumbling Predacon. Of course, he was going so fast that he would probably
smash his head into the ceiling if he did manage to escape.
Viracide's spark light had returned to normal quite quickly and he got up.
He wouldn't be able to do that again. He was almost low on energon. He knew
what he was doing, sort of. He got up slowly just in time to see the
Predacon roll down the hallway. Velocity flew up to avoid him, and it looked
like Digit and Jynx stood in the Pred's way!
"Velocity! pick up Digit, quick!" Viracide panned that the squirt could lift
her in the air and Jynx would then be able to dodge easly. But whether or
not Velocity was strong enough...
The canine glanced downwards at Viracide. Were this a less serious
situation, he would've laughed. He could barely pick up Digit in robot mode,
much less this one. Still, Velocity was a loyal little dog, and determined
to fulfill his commander's order.
Were it not for the fact that as he was glancing downward his shoulder and
the side of his head hit the ceiling. One really couldn't fly and watch
other people at the same time. At least, not in a hallway.
Velocity bounced off the ceiling with a howl of pain, his jets now aiming
him towards the floor near Viracide's feet. He was too dizzy, and moving too
fast to right himself, so he yelped "Beast Mode!" and plummeted downwards
due to gravity, not his thrusters' momentum.
"Well I should have figured that wouldn't've worked." He said to himself.
Viracide held out his arms in order to catch Velocity. Velocity landed right
in his arms with a slight bump. "Good thing you went into Beast Mode, or you
would have blasted right through." Viracide said with a slight smile. The Predacon assailant crashed into the wall at the end of the hall with a loud CRASH, and Viracide winced. After a second or two
he called out, "Jynx, Digit, are you all right?"
In an attempt to save Digit, Jynx had thrown himself in front of her as the
Predacon landed on top of them. But, to no avail.
He was still conscious, which was more than could be said of Digit.
As he tried to move, a surging pain went through his shoulder, and as he
looked at it, he could see that it was almost torn off, still hanging by a few threads.
"Did someone get the licence plate from that bus?" he murmured, before he
finally passed out. The Predacon, still smashed against the wall, teetered, and did the same.
—LA, BB, AF, MdJ, DN
"Krunch to Silverquick, we are clear to dock! The 'Cons are standing down!" announced the Maximal through his communicator. Then he looked to Snarler.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I am a 'Bot of my word! I have a little unfinished business with our traitorous little mute over there! I believe that I promised to take him apart bolt-by-bolt!" Krunch said as he moved towards Kitfox.
Krunch's communication came through to the bridge. Relieved, Silverquick slumped back into his command chair. We performed admirably, he thought, having watched his crew successfully defend against the powerful Predacon boarding party. He'd have to remember to commend them.
Silverquick tabbed the comm link on his chair. "Very well, Krunch." The Maximal halted his fist just a moment as the communication began. "We'll hold position here while we repair the wounded and patch that hole in observation; hopefully we can make more permanent repairs at Kull Tan. And as for you, Kitfox," Silverquick's tone became harsh, "surrender your weapons and allow Krunch to escort you to the brig. If you don't go peacefully, Krunch is authorized to use extreme prejudice. Understood?
"Viracide, please see that the damaged get to CR chambers, Maximals first, then Predacons if they wish. Oh, and Krunch, after you get Kitfox to the brig, please see that all the Predacons gather in observation."
"Aye, sir," said Krunch, though the soldier frowned when he heard Silverquick's orders. Taking Kitfox apart like he had planned would have to wait.
"Lucky for you that I follow orders, skid-plate! But please feel free to give me a reason to use extreme prejudice!!" he said to the little bot. Krunch then looked up at Moltor and addressed him.
"If you don't mind, Commander.... my Captain would like you and your party to wait here while we dock?" he added a small salute to show respect to Moltor's rank.
The Predacon raised a brow at the soldier's sudden change of demeanor. "Acceptable."
Kitfox glared at Krunch. I could kill them all, so easily... His eyes narrowed... But it won't get me docked at the Post. And the sooner I get this blockage removed for good, the better. Kitfox tossed his blade onto the ground, and held out one of his hands, looking at the ground.
Viracide, still carrying Velocity, responded to the commander. "Will do." He put Velocity down. Then he looked at the three damaged bots, and the orb
hovering above them, then back at Velocity. "I guess they're going to
be sore at me when they wake up in the CR... But it sure beats waking up in
a Predacon slave camp." He walked over and picked up Jynx and Digit in one
arm each, and slumped the Predacon, Splitounge, over his shouder. All this
damage was caused by him. He would have to note that using spark force
inside the ship was usally not a good idea.
Velocity idly marveled at Viracide's strength. "Eh, I actually though y'did
a pretty good job, commander!" he said enthusiastically. "I mean, if I could
use powers like that, I would've been..like..pow! Smash! Slam!" He
punctuated each exclamation with a happy yip and a jump..before realizing
that that hurt a bit when he jumped. Velocity walked a bit more sedately
behind Viracide, continuing his running commentary of what he would've done
had he been Viracide.
"And kapOW! Boom! Blam!" He chortled happily as he trotted down the
corridors.
—LB, JA, AF, BB, LA
"We're coming in!" Paradox said, as he eased into the station. "We'll make it
before the Maximals, but I doubt they'll think anything of it." Paradox
pushed hard on the acceleration and pulled hard right. "Ready docking
hatch." Paradox demanded over the com-link. The station opened their gates, and Paradox decelerated and equally
matched the docking clamps precisely. "We're in."
"Excellent, Paradox. We indeed seem to be in," Stormclaw agreed. He looked
at his followers, who had all gathered on the bridge.
"Charmacon, you shall seal the Whisper using locking method Helix 42. That
means," Stormclaw spoke as he eyed the other Predacons, "that only the
subcommander and myself can open the ship's entrances again.
About the Trading Post—expect dirty lowlife criminals, scoundrels and
worse. I want you to keep out of trouble, but your sensors open. I myself
shall try to arrange a meeting with the station's commander and see to it
the Maximals resume their mission as soon as possible."
Stormclaw now stood in front of the airlock, the rest of the Predacon team
behind him. He turned around to look at them. "That said, you are free to
roam the station and attend to any personal matters you may have—conversation, trade or otherwise. The exception of course is, plainly put,
getting drunk. Also, I want you to be able to return to the Whisper within
five cycles, at all times."
The Predacon commander stretched and lifted his head in the air. "Now then,
am I understood? If any of you has any questions, now is the time to voice
them."
"If there are none, let us be on our way
then." With that, the red and black Transmetal opened the hatch and set off.
—BB, DN