"So, where is that salesman you was talkin' about?" Jynx asked, as he was being led by Nightfall to a more secluded area of the trading post. Next to them was a rowdy bar, where people seemed to be more concerned with getting drunk on Wheeljack Daniels than anything else. Maybe it was his imagination, but he swore he smelled Krunch his breath from there. Not that it would be a surprise to find the dinobot there. But, who could blame him? If he wasn’t so against any form of enhancing fuel surrogates, he probably would have been there himself.
Nightfall smiled, stroking his arm gently. "Depends on where you want to look, kitty... I'm sure we can find you something around here somewhere..." She lead him down a side corridor, the equivalent of an alleyway in the station. "But don't you see anything else you want?"
Just then, from out of nowhere, a vacuum above Jynx filled with a loud thump, and Charmacon appeared from out of nowhere. He jumped from the wall and grabbed Jynx. "Well, well, Maxie, naive as-s-s always-s-s, I s-s-see..." Charmacon gloated. Wires appeared from his eyes, as he tried to hook up his internal processor to Jynx's. The wires squirmed until they made contact with Jynx, right in his optics.
Jynx screamed as he attempted to break loose, and his shoulder was under such pressure it felt like it was going to explode. "Let me go, you son of a Go-Bot!" He felt a surging pain go through his head, as his data files were tapped upon, and he felt the download in progress.
Nightfall felt a bit of a twinge at leading the poor guy along, but thrust it down. He was a Maximal, she was a Predacon. Not like any of them ever treated her any better than their own kind. And at least he wouldn't be permanently damaged.
"Maxie, maxie, jus-s-st quit s-s-struggling and this would be a lot les-s-s-s painful. Oh, and a lot les-s-s-s enjoyable for me, but bus-s-sines-s-s before pleas-s-sure, right?" Charmacon started as the information begin to unwind within his processor. "Wha...?!? S-s-stars-s-scream? What’s-s-s he doing aboard?"
Charmacon wasn’t able to finish his sentence, as Jynx managed to free his good arm and cut through the wires linking his and Charmacon’s mind. The sudden feedback thrust him back and he landed between a stack of plates and hubcaps, making a terrible racket. This got the attention from several clients of the bar, including some of the larger ones.
"Aaaaah!" Charmacon shouted, "I’m blind!!! Nightfall, let’s-s-s recuperate and retreat back to the s-s-ship. We have to keep a low profile, and we have the info we need. Lead me until my optics-s-s are repaired!" He shuddered. "S-s-stars-s-scream..." he said in a low hiss.
Oh sure, give me away too... Nightfall smiled sweetly at the still-dizzy Jynx. "Sorry, handsome. Orders are orders... For what it's worth, I really did think you were cute..." She slipped off into the hallway just as the crowd started to spill out. "C'mon, Charmacon."
—MdJ, CB
Terrorpin observed the docking bay with a scrutinous gaze. Predacons were everywhere, bustling about in their activities either alone or while chatting among themselves. The chaotic scene was much to his liking. To him, it was life. These Predacons had no worries about having things kept from them, unlike the cold deprivity faced by scientists such as himself and Silverquick. Their biggest concerns were most likely either social or material matters. His, though, was what no one wanted him to have.
Information. And now, this desire had coupled itself with a newly reawakened yearning for space travel. He had packed what he could into his shell—the new datapad, some compacted energon, a few test beakers, and some instruments. Now, he was concocting a plan on how to realize his ambition. But first, he needed a ship.. and since he didn't have one, stowing away was his only option. And so he made his way over to the ships, inspecting each one and trying to decide which one held the best odds of getting away undetected...
—DW
Viracide was utterly surprised. "PREDACON SHIP!!!" Viracide's spark flared for a moment, and he regained his composure. "There's a Predacon ship? Cloaked?" He paused. "Right, surgeon." Viracide thought for a moment. "Maybe Digit could... Ugggh! But she's in the R chamber still. And I would need someone to look for a surgeon on the station, because I can't leave." Viracide then realized something. "All right Starfox, uhhh I mean Kitscream, oh never mind..."
Viracide was nervous, mainly because of that Predacon ship. He ran onto the bridge. Viracide then looked for it, "Oh Thank Goodness! Orb! Orb, you're my last hope! You have to go to the station." Digit's Orb hovered around and floated side by side, almost ignoring poor Viracide. "Look, I know you're attached to Digit, but I am your superior officer! Now I need you to look for something for me..." The Orb left Viracide to attend to Digit. "You know, you could get court martialed for this! This is mutany!" Viracide sighed and tried to think of another way.
Goldstreak walked onto the bridge. He was a little distracted, and with good reason... He didn't remember anything that had happened since the start of the battle.
He saw Viracide on the bridge talking to Orb. He waited for him to finish, before moving forward. "What's up, Partner, and...where the Pit are we? Did we win the battle?" He really hated when he got these gaps in his memory. They were so disorientating.
Viracide rushed to him, grateful. "Oh, thank you, thank you! There is someone else on the ship. Goldstreak! Kitfox is Starscream! Wait...you know that already. We need to get that anti-talking device out of him. And Silverquick hasn't come back yet. I need you, I need you to find a surgeon. If you can't, then find Krunch." Viracide noticed everything wasn't adequetely explaned to him. "Wait, we in a Predacon station, and the battle...sure, we won." Viracide smiled to himself. "I did most of the slagging, though..."
—BB, MC
Krunch thought about Alpengeist's offer...but just for a nanosecond. It would be fun to jump ship and start up his own mercenary gang like Rancid's Roughnecks. However, Krunch was a soldier, and duty came first, regardless of how many skid-plates he had to babysit.
Just as he was about to decline, the sargeant heard the commotion outside, hearing Jynx's distinct cry for help. Stowing the bottle of hooch in his arm compartment, (after all, he did pay for it) Krunch ran out of the bar into the main walkway to find Jynx nursing his shoulder. He saw two figures moving away from the smaller Maximal, but checked out Jynx first before giving chase.
"Are you okay, rookie??" he asked anxiously, hoping that he might get a chance to try out his new toy.
Jynx just looked at the big bot glazy, and released a slow moan, followed by a hiss. "My head hurts..." he finally said.
"Sounds good enough to me!" said Krunch. The soldier broke into a run in an attempt to follow the two figures that were the probable cause of Jynx's problem.
The giant Maximal tore through the crowd, spilling drinks at the bar as his footfalls shook the floor. He stormed past a gambling table, and pushed aside a twitching insect with a handful of cards. He nearly lost sight of his targets for a moment in the haze of the polluted air. Finally, he spotted them again: two scale-covered Predacons, one a lanky female, the other holding blinded eyes. Just as he was about to catch up, he missed his glance, and nearly tripped over a much shorter blue butterfly female carrying a tray of drinks back to the bar. The two collided with a crash, and Krunch nearly stumbled onto the floor, tipping radium and dirty-mech all over the hapless femme.
Running into the barmaid caused Krunch to lose sight of his quarry, which only frustrated him further. Without thinking, he took his frustration out on the femme.
"YOU STUPID CLUMSY SLAGGIN' 'CON!!! DO YOU ALL COME OFF THE ASSEMBLY LINE WITH YOUR GYROS OUT OF SYNCH???" he shouted at high volume. However, the soldier realized too late that he should have kept his audio processor muted. All the Predacons in the bar began to stare at the giant Maximal.
Uh-oh... think fast, robot!
As Krunch ran past the card table, Snarler raised his eyes, and had a look at a timing device on his watch. "Half a megacycle before getting into trouble, lasted longer than I expected! Oh well, I'll let him handle this 'till he gets over his head." He returned to his card game, keeping scan on the activity around Krunch.
The little insect simpered for a moment, trying to look apologetic. To fake tears at the threat wouldn't have been beneath her, but it didn't seem entirely appropriate at this juncture. Royalle stood, wiping herself off, and looked up at Krunch. "I'm terribly sorry, sir."
Big fat oafs have to remember to look DOWN occasionally... she thought...
"Can I help you out?" She reached over to a nearby table, and started to wipe some of the spilled liquors off the much larger Maximal. In her haste to help, she wasn't shy about where she touched.
"WHOA!! Hey, watch the chassis, lady!!" said Krunch as he moved out of the compromising position.
As Krunch started shouting again, Snarler calmly folded his hand, and, after apologizing for leaving left the game, he stood in the crowd surrounding Krunch. Although being larger than most of them, his Predacon design meant that no one took much notice of him. He just watched, ready to step in if needed.
Keeping his eyes on the femme, the sergeant realized that her non-aggressive reaction probably saved his skid-plate from a severe slagging at the hands of the locals. The dinobot spoke again to Royalle, but in a more gentlemanly fashion.
"Sorry, lady, for blowing up like that, but I was trying to catch some skid-plates that hurt one of my crew-mates!" he explained, remembering that he left Jynx wallowing in his misfortune.
"Look, you'll have to excuse me, but I need to see how he's doing!" said Krunch as he reached for the change he received from his earlier purchase. He slipped a few bills in the femme's hand, then stepped away from her. "Thanks for keeping my skid-plate out of an R-Chamber! I know its not much, but its all a soldier can afford! Thanks again!" offered the soldier as he made his way back to Jynx.
Royalle blinked at the gift. "Wow," she muttered. "I didn't even have to pick his pocket for that one." She shrugged, picked up her tray and set it aside, then, still wiping off some of the spilled drink from her folded wing-skirt, made her way to the card tables.
—JA, MdJ, DT, AF
The High-O smell was now so prevalent in the room that Velocity was feeling a bit dizzy from the fumes. The smell of Enercrack was sweet, but this was too much of a good thing. They'd have to air this place out afterwards.
"Last batch is just cooling off!" he announced with some degree of pride. Then he snatched three of the flasks and slipped them into subspace, leaving three more flasks of shimmering liquid on the table as well as a fourth empty one.
As the mixer waited for the last flask to simmer, he reached towards the datascreen with his shaking hands, which had been the major cause of his loss of time. Turning it on and trying to type out the formula, he found himself sighing. There was no such word as 'nemegohn,' but his fingers were determined to disobey his brain.
"Think you could open up the door?" he asked of Emerald, shaking his head as if to clear it. He'd almost swear he could hear some odd noises coming from the outside—and a loud voice that sounded suspiciously like Krunch. If he didn't have a job to finish, he would have investigated as soon as he could. As it was, he simply muttered "Activate audio mechanism," to hear better.
Stabbing the backspace key, he tried to print out the formula again, this time with mounting frustration.
"Open the...door?" Emerald, who was fanning the scent away with her folded, detached wings, gave Velocity a very puzzled, almost disgusted look. "You don't want privacy?"
Velocity raised an optic ridge, but then paused as the realization of her words hit him. "Let me finish this up," he said lamely, as his fingers flew over the keypad, mostly missing their marks.
Velocity didn't exactly want to do what Emerald was offering. He'd prefer it if he could make his High-O last as long as possible—who knew when he could make more? And of course, without High-O he'd be a laughingstock rather than a lover. Now, how to tell her that without sounding like a self-centered, stupid boor...(an exceptionally hard task, considering he was one)? Velocity liked to think he had more decency than to say 'I don't want to waste my energy on hookers, thanks.'
"Uh, well, I want to breathe first. Ain't just you that's takin' my breath away," he added with a snicker at his own wit. Sometimes the good lines just came to him. Glancing down, he grinned as he found he'd typed out the formula without even realizing it.
Setting the datapad down, he dashed to the door with a quick "I'll get it!" and opened it up. As "fresh" air filtered through, Velocity sucked it in greedily.
Air wasn't the only thing that came to him; sounds did too. There was a crash, and a voice bellowing that definitely was Krunch's. He was shouting something about "gyros being out of synch." Velocity blinked: that didn't sound good. He glanced back at Emerald as he rubbed the back of his head nervously.
"I think one of my teammates might be in trouble," he said slowly, with a glance down the hallway. "I probably should go help him or somethin'."
The dogbot sighed miserably; a fight would require him to down some High-O. Maybe he could just scout it out and if trouble got too bad he could report to the ship? There didn't seem to be any more disturbances, but that wasn't a good thing. Maybe someone'd taken down Krunch before he had the chance to bellow.
The female was stunned. "You're looking for an excuse to leave. Aren't you?" Emerald rose to her feet, and marched over to the door. "You didn't come back here with me at all. You just care about that drug of yours."
She put her hands on her hips, and stared Velocity down. "Well...that's fine. That's perfectly fine! It's not as if I was actually interested in a...a mangy mongrel MAXIMAL like you! I am a DANCER. Do you hear me?" Her voice reached a manic pitch. "A DANCER! And your megacycle of MY time is UP."
Velocity pressed himself up against a wall, his ears lowered, and tried to make himself as small as possible as Emerald screamed at him. He didn't meet her gaze once. Her voice was supernaturally loud due to his advanced hearing, and occasionally he whimpered.
"So..." she kept on, "if I don't hurry right now, I'm gonna miss my cue, and I won't get to dance for the Dragon Lord, so...why don't you just take your glowy tubes..." The drug was starting to bother her at last, and she needed a release from the built-up energy, one she'd thought she'd have already had coming. "...and do to THEM what you were gonna do to me! Because I have somewhere I need to BE!" She threw the rickety door open the rest of the way, and it rebounded against the interior wall as she stomped off down the hall.
Unfortunately, his ears were ringing. But fortunately, she was gone. And she hadn't pulled a weapon on him.
Enjoying the relative silence, Velocity shut down his audio enhancement mechanism, and breathed a sigh of relief. His feelings hovered between annoyance that Emerald could not understand his duties to his team, guilt at the truth of her words, and simple acceptance—she would've been calmer with no drugs in her system. Eventually he determined that acceptance was the most hassle-free emotion to feel, and smothered the other two.
"Enjoy the gift, senorita," he muttered with a wave in her direction, though she couldn't see it. He then quickly trotted down the hallway to catch up with his teammates, though making sure he wouldn't meet up with the angry dragonfly first. Entering the main room of the Trading Post, he scanned the area, and was pleased not to see a fight or the dead bodies of his friends.
However, he did see those friends moving towards the docking bay.
"Hey!" he yipped, and rushed through the crowd to get to them. "Nice of them t'tell me they were leavin'.." he grumbled underneath his breath.
—LA, AF
Making his way throught the bar and the crowd, Krunch got back to Jynx. As he helps him up, the sergeant checked Jynx out for any damage.
"Come on, you Cheetor-wannabe, let's get you back to the ship!" he said, with a chuckle.
"Cheetor.... wannabe? Whozat?" Jynx said. He tried to stand up, and was surprised he actually could. Still a little light headed, but pretty ok in general. Now, if only his sight would focus... "Thanks Big guy... hope I didn't disturb any drinkin' ritual of yours! Uhh.. which way to the R baths, please?"
"Back on the ship. Silverquick will be expecting us anyway! Let's go!" said Krunch as he helped Jynx back to the Renegade. The soldier turned and looked to Snarler.
"We appreciate all your help back there, Peace-Pipe!" the sergeant added, shaking his head as he walked. Unconsciously, Krunch began mumbling to himself. "Slaggin' skid-plate peace-pipe'll do anything to get that lower bunk!!"
Back at the card table, Paradox's mouth opened. "Missed him by by by that much." Paradox felt like crying, then he remembered insects don't cry, so instead he looked at his deck. All is not lost, he thought. He slammed his cards on the table. "Two pair, beat that!" He smiled at Klaw-hammer, to gloat at his victory.
Realizing his cover as an assumed Predacon was broken, Snarler stepped to join his fellow Maximals and help Jynx up before turning to Krunch. "Looks like Orb won the bet. I thought you could at least go a megacycle before getting into trouble."
Snarler chuckled to himself and followed the two of them to the Renegade. "Slag...and I had a royal flush as well," he muttered as he passed Paradox and Klaw-hammer by the card table. As an afterthought, he handed his winnings to a Predacon tramp he saw standing by the table. "Buy yourself some high-grade fuel with this. Maybe it will help clear your system from all that lowgrade stuff you've been on recently."
Leaving the shocked femme with a large amount of energon credits, Snarler reached the Renegade just behind the others.
I should hang around Maximals more often, the femme thought, slipping the credits into her skirt. Apparently they're all under the impression that I'm a hard-luck case.
Royalle approached the card table, and looked back and forth from Klaw-hammer to Paradox. She tapped the much larger crab on the back of his shoulder—or, at least, as high as she could reach—to get his attention. "I was on my way to inform you that Commander Moltor requests your presence in the guildroom."
"Moltor, Moltor, Moltor, yes I remember. Is Lord Stormclaw still there? I should go too if he is, I must report to him at once." Paradox scooped up all the chips he had won and nodded to the dealer. Darn Maximal! Why did he have to leave so early? I almost had him! Now I have to report that the Maximals are about to leave!
"Yeah, we might as well get out of here, Paradox. Nothing much else to see." Klaw-hammer had been greatly amused watching all the happenings, especially the large Maxie falling all over himself and Royalle. Unfortunately, he had learned to late the Stego was a Maximal, and he had wasted his opportunity for a little fun. But, being summoned by the Boss might be fun, too.
On the way out, Klaw-hammer looked down at his little friend. "You're not gonna forget our deal, right? You got a nice haul, I'm getting my fair share."
He punched Paradox in the arm, in a friendly manner. The two of them, Klaw-hammer in the lead, headed for the guildroom of the Boss.
"Of course, I'll share. You led me to the table." Paradox continued to follow. "You should be glad I'm not your normal greedy Predacon." Then it hit Paradox that he had absolutly no idea what he was getting into. This new guy could be a spark-eater or something. You know from a certain angle, he did look a little... Worries entered Paradox's mind as he slowed down. But then he realized that his spark was probably not worth eating. Paradox didn't know why and he didn't care. So he increased his speed and hoped Stormclaw wouldn't be in a sore mood when he got there.
—JA, MdJ, DT, AF, BB, KCS
Krunch had left the bar, drawn by the nearby commotion which involved, and Alpengeist heard (since several Transformers were quite vocal about what was going on), a member or two of the Maximal crew that Krunch had arrived with. Alpengeist slugged the last of his WheelJack Daniels and got up, intending to follow his friend. Smashing real bots is better than the simulations, he thought. Before he could head over to the fracas, however, something caught his optics, something rather familiar...
HIM! Alpengeist thought frantically. How in the Pit did he get here? He looked again, but saw nothing. Had he seen anything in the first place? It had been so long since Alpengeist had seen HIM that he sometimes hoped he'd given up, but then reminded himself that that was really unlikely. Alpengeist hurried back to the Whisper, as casually as his massive frame would allow, and locked himself in his room.
—LB
After returning to the Renegade, Silverquick headed for the holo-chamber and called up a personal program: a tropical lagoon, with white crystal sand, a crimson twin-sunset, and the clearest turquoise water. Too bad it's not the real thing, he thought, recalling the spot on Seareach he'd holo-photographed. It was one of the three spots of dry land on the otherwise water-covered world. He'd been there before the traumatic squid attack, and still found the spot supremely relaxing. Transforming to beastmode, he slipped effortlessly in the water, swimming lazily for a few cycles before joining the pod of native dolphins in some frolicking. Half a megacycle later, he left the holo-chamber and headed for the bridge. It was empty, which didn't surprise him. He sat in the command chair, and tabbed a control on the armrest.
"Computer, open communications with all Maximal crew," he ordered.
"Comm channel active."
"Attention Renegade crew, this is Silverquick. Please return to the ship; we are leaving in fifteen cycles."
Krunch was helping Jynx along back to the ship when he heard the comm.
"About slaggin' time! Good thing I got my shopping done!" said the big Maximal.
Using his repair skills, Krunch tried to make a quick diagnosis on his comrade. The soldier personally was uncomfortable with using the R-Chambers, opting to make his own repairs on himself. Although he might not be appreciated by his fellow crew-mates now, the sergeant knew that he would be become a commodity should the R-Chambers ever break down.
As the pair reached the Renegade, Krunch released Jynx.
"See you on the bridge....." he said as he turned to head there.
"Ugh..." Jynx said. He was feeling a bit nauseous, but he felt he could at least stand up. His shoulder still hurt, but an R-Chamber would come when there weren't things to do. The big bot was a pretty good mechanic. Now, if only he could get the vision of the charmeleon Predacon out of his optics... "The bridge....? Uhhh, yeah, sure thing... s-s-see ya there..."
Krunch made his way to the bridge and took his place at Tactical. He had the ship's computer run a diagnostic on primary systems to make ready for their departure. As he waited for a response, he wondered about the incident at the bar with Jynx and the two Preds that he tried to follow. But that wasn't what was bothering him. After the whole thing was over, Krunch tried to find his fellow mercenary, Alpengeist, but the huge bear-bot had vanished, just like those other Preds had.
"Hmmm, just like those other Preds..... Alpo did say he had found some good work! I never pegged him to sell out to the 'Cons though." Krunch deduced. It would have been too much of a coincidence any other way.
Shaking his head, Krunch began thinking about his work ahead, regarding integrating his new weapon, the Quasar Cannon, with his present one, the Plasma Cannon. After his shift, he would head down to Engineering and get to work on combining the two weapons into one massive blaster.
Viracide spent his time in enginneering, putting up with Goldstreak. Viracide was trying to relay more power to Digit's CR chamber, but he had no idea how to do that. It was Digit's job! Viracide saw that some power was being used up in the holochamber. "Dang...someone has boarded the ship!"
Viracide yelled at Goldstreak, "Indruder alert!" Viracide activated the internal sensors, and discovered that one Maximal was detected. "Oh never mind, 'Streak, it's the Commander." Viracide gave a weak smile and headed for the bridge. He had a lot to tell.
—LB, JA, MdJ, JA, BB
Nightfall staggered a bit as she pulled Charmacon along. At least he'd quieted down some for now... She got him through the airlock and to the ship, and into one of the R-baths. "Stay here for a while, you should be up and around in a bit...."
"S-s-stars-s-scream..." Charmacon whispered, as he was lowered into R-bath. He looked towards where he thought Nightfall would be, then closed his damaged eyes and gave way to the soothing healing powers of the R-bath.
Once the bath was activated, Nightfall turned to leave, heading back out into the station to find a nice quiet corner. After checking around a bit, she managed to find a good place with no one around. Opening up her laptop, she patched into the Station communication system, careful to cover her trail with hacking programs and misleading files. Opening up her special program, she contacted her "watcher" back on Cybertron.
The video was indistinct, the silhouette of a head and shoulders, and some glowing red optics. "Nightfall reporting in. We're at the Kull Tan outpost. For some reason the Maximals decided to alter their course. Charmacon tried to get information out of one of the Maximals, I'm not sure what he has yet, but he did say something about Starscream... I'm guessing that's the traitor on the Maxie ship that alerted us to their anti-cloaking sensors and deactivated them... We think. The Maximals are more than likely aware they're being followed now... We should be leaving as soon as the Maximals do to head to Cerebros station."
"Starscream." The voice of the other agent was filtered and garbled, but his words were clear enough. "Darkwave will be informed about this. The Air Commander's involvement is not entirely unexpected." A pause, while the other agent computed. "We will inform you as to High Command's official position on this matter. In the meantime, you are instructed to monitor the Maximals' arrival to their intermediate destination. It is possible, though not likely, that the Maximal general at Cerebros may devine or even interfere with your primary objective."
"Understood. I will try to avoid his attention, and presumably Lord Stormclaw will avoid the station as well. Nightfall out." She deactivated the com, wondering who Starscream was. She'd heard the name before, he must be someone important... Oh well, she'd look him up with the computer in the Ship... For now she accessed the station computers, looking for starcharts.
Terrorpin watched the female exit the ship with a smile inward smirk. He had kept his eye on the ship, which was called the Whisper according to the sign on the hull. From what he gathered, it had been deserted by its members and now only had the injured inside. This was the perfect opportunity to sneak aboard. His only gripe was that he had no idea where it was headed or who was in command of it.
I hope to Cybertron that he hasn't found himself a new ship... he thought. I could be in some deep slag then... But what the Pit! Ol' Captain Rustface is prolly still searching for my "corpse" in that sector halfway from here to Timbuktu!!...Wherever that is...
He put his thoughts to rest as he walked briskly up the ramp and through the hatch. If the ship went anywhere interesting, he'd get off next stop with hopefully the same luck he was having sneaking on. And if he was discovered.. Well, he wouldn't allow himself to be found out. Without any more lagging concerns, Terrorpin put his immediate efforts toward finding a hiding place within the craft. If it was needed, he'd go into rest mode and wait out the Whisper's next stop.
—MdJ, CB, DW
In the blue-lit hall outside of the boss's guildroom, Moltor paced evenly in front of the doubledoors, and surveyed the string of pirates—only four, heavy-armed warriors all—that he had summoned forth. The strains of music drifted through the thick doors; Royalle had already entered there, and the production number that Balt had planned was working up to a full swing. Somehow, Moltor doubted that kind of petty amusment was why the Lord had come to Kull Tan, but, then again, what should a noble be doing there at all?
The pirate captain stared his yellow eyes down upon one of the Post's radiers, and, when the other, a thick-scaled dimetrodon, did not blink, he was satisfied. A large crab stood at the end of the line...his stance of attention only slightly sloppy. And, finally...
Moltor noticed Paradox, and blinked at him oddly. "You're not one of mine."
"Heya, Moltor. This here's my new buddy Paradox. I met him on one of the gambling tables." It was well known among the Pirates that Klaw-hammer was a sucker for the card tables.
"He came with me because he's under this Lord Stormclaw guy who's here with the Boss." Klaw-hammer's bad stature at attention did not change. He knew that he was one of the stronger Pirates, and one of Moltor's personal picks in most battles. He respected Moltor a lot, he just didn't show it.
"I'm the pilot of the Predacon ship Whisper, and I must see Stormclaw." Paradox was almost in a panic, he'd wasted enough time. "The Maximals are are are leaving! Where's Stormclaw? He must know!"
The Predacon pirate captain nodded at Paradox, then at Klaw-hammer. "I will inform him." He inspected the troops again. "Try not to be insubordinate," he said to Klaw-hammer. He then punched the code to open the door, and led the pirates inside. The door slammed shut right before Paradox could enter.
Inside the guildroom, a pirate party had gone into full-swing. The loot-sorters were laughing rauciously, sucking energon from mugs and cubes, and music blared. In front of the Thief Boss, Fangkiss and Royalle danced a sultry duo in time to the beat. Boss Balt seemed to be enjoying the spectacle very much, though Stormclaw looked a little distant. Laughing, the Boss slugged Stormclaw on the shoulder, trying to get his attention.
The merriment failed to cease at Moltor's entrance... a fact which did not amuse him much. He walked up to the Boss's cushion with even steps, and clapped once to get his attention. The gesture failed, though he did grab the attention of the dancing butterfly, who blew him a kiss. He grimaced, and tried again, this time addressing Stormclaw. "Sir."
With a start, and much to his annoyance, Stormclaw realized he had been entranced by the two dancing girls in front of him. He showed nothing however, and slowly turned towards Moltor.
"Yes, Commander?" he spoke, but a silent hiss was masked underneath. He envisioned Boss Balt laughing at him, behind his back, pleased that effort to fool Stormclaw had worked. Fine. He'd know the consequences of that mistake soon enough. Eyes squinting, the black and red Predacon addressed Moltor again.
"Well?"
"I have been requested by one of your crewmates to inform you that the Maximals have departed. I trust this is a matter of import to you?" His eyes narrow. "I also have brought some of my better-trained warriors for your inspection."
The Commander of the Whisper's crew had trouble keeping his appearance calm. That cursed Paradox! It must be him! Instantly, Stormclaw got to his feet, and said, "I'll... inspect your men now, then, Moltor."
He turned around to Boss Balt, and added, "My apologies, Balt, but I have business to attend to. We shall speak later."
With that, he paced towards the door, hardly waiting for Moltor to catch up. The pirate commander followed, and rushed out the doors.
Meanwhile, where Paradox waited outside the guildroom, hearing the strains of the party through the thick metal doors, he was nearly bowled over by a charming dragonfly femme racing to catch up. The girl reached the doors, and seeing them shut, pounded on them once. A sob escaped her voice. "...Slag!" She pounded on the doors a few more times, and kicked them.
Paradox stood leaning on the wall. He was grumpy, he wanted credit for telling Stromclaw. Then the Dragonfly nearly bowled him over. He shook his head and noticed it was a female. She was distressed. "Hey Hey Hey you want to get in too." Paradox neared the door again, "What's got you you you in a blurr anyway?"
"It, it, it..." Running a on High-O she is assuredly not accustomed to, Emerald suttered a bit herself during her reply. She took a breath and started again. "I need to be in there! I'm missing the dance and now I'm going to be in a lot of trouble because I got locked out!!" She stamped her foot. "Stupid MAXIMALS!" Stamp, stamp, stamp... "I HATE HATE HATE them!"
Paradox like the girl aready she was talking just like he does. What a girl she must know what I go through! He smiled then he frowned as he realized something else. Hey she might be making fun of me!! Then the word hit him: Maximal!
"Maximals Maximals Maximals! What? Which one?! I need to know! What did you do?" Paradox put his hands on her shoulders and started to shake her, his mind what buzzing around. "Where's Stormclaw?! He should be here!" Paradox let her go. "We we we need to get get get in there now!" Paradox took out his crossbow and readied his plasma cannon. "We must get in!"
"Hey!" Emerald didn't take kindly to being grabbed and shaken. "Aren't you kinda jumping the gun? I mean you can't SHOOT here because the pirates all WORK here and Moltor was supposed to take the really tough ones and..." She pauses, takes a breath. "Stupid Maximal wasted my time and then he LEFT. He was a mangy little DOG."
At that moment, as if in response to Paradox's urgency, Stormclaw and Moltor again exited the room. Moltor was still tailed by a few of his warriors, and he did not bother locking the door behind him as he did before.
"Huh, what? Dog Dog Dog." Paradox thought, "so they have a dog." Paradox turned to Emerald, "Organic, Transmetal II, Transmetal?" Paradox then saw Stormclaw and that Moltar guy leave. "Commander Stromclaw! We must leave at once once once!!! The Maximals! Are gone gone gone!"
As per Moltor's orders, Klaw-hammer was following him around and trying very hard not to be insubordinate. But, when he saw Paradox in such a bad way, he broke ranks and walked over.
"Paradox, buddy, slow down. What are you talking about, anyway?"
Then, he noticed the pretty femme-bot. He'd already missed one chance today. He might as well try again. With Stormclaw and Moltor busy with Paradox, he walked over to Emerald.
"Hey... What's going on with you?" he said.
"I'm having a very very bad..." deep breath... "Maximal encounter DAY."
Stormclaw had reached the door, then unlocked and opened it. Immediately, he saw Paradox, armed and weapon ready. The Predacon Commander did not hesitate and walked straight at the other. Stormclaw moved back his right fist swiftly, then thrust it hard in Paradox's face, sending him flying several meters across the room.
"You moron! Did I not make myself clear enough? I shall not tolerate failure!"
Stormclaw paced to where Paradox had crashed into a wall. The red and black Transmetal's right hand closed around Paradox's throat, then lifted the insect-bot off the ground. Stormclaw pulled his victim close to him, then hissed under his breath, "You are a disaster to our mission, I knew it from the beginning, but in my ignorance I hoped that I could forge a true Predacon out of you yet! I guess I was wrong, miserable excuse for a robot!"
The Commander held his crew member in his grip for a few more moments, his eyes piercing through the other's optics, then cast Paradox away. Stormclaw stood there, trying to regain his normally ever present calmness. Then he turned around.
Several strong Predacon pirates stood there, assembled there for inspection, looking at what had occured. Stormclaw gazed back at them, in silence, and allowed himself an inward smile.
A couple of the pirates blinked, and one of them visibly shivered. Moltor snapped his gaze over to his startled subordinate, and the other looked into his optics, then away, balking at his stare. Moltor pointed toward the open guildroom door, and the other pirate slinked away. "Only the VERY strongest," he stated, looking back at the others, only three now remaining, "are worthy of inspection."
Klaw-hammer wasn't pleased. He wasn't pleased at all. He stepped towards Stormclaw, even though he knew Moltor wouldn't like it.
"You don't have to be so rough on him." Klaw-hammer crossed his arms across his chest. He was a rather large, menacing figure after all. And he didn't like how his new friend was being treated. Paradox might be a little odd, but nobody deserved treatment like that. It wasn't very Pred-like, but Klaw-hammer was known for being a bit unusual. He was loyal to a fault.
"I shall take no counseling on this matter, soldier," Stormclaw replied coldly. "It it weren't for his pilot skills I would have disposed of Paradox a long time ago already."
The captain of the Whisper had to look up to Klaw-hammer, but if he was intimidated by the other's sheer size, Stormclaw did not show it.
"Don't waste your time feinting companionship to Paradox, soldier, he's not worth it." Stormclaw turned around and addressed Moltor.
"Commander, I assume this handful comprises your toughest warriors?"
"Of those that were not damaged in the raid on the Maximal ship," the commander responded.
Paradox took a while to catch his breath, he was mad. But he could do anything about it. Most Predacons in his position would shoot him in the back. The only thing Paradox's honor allowed him to do was talk, but even that maybe a stupid idea. Paradox got up and brushed all the grim off of him. He decided the best thing to do was head for the ship.
Ignoring the insect-bot's exit, Stormclaw began inspecting the remaining Predacons present.
"I am Stormclaw of Dark Dragon," he addressed them. "Your chief, Boss Balt, has summoned you, his Station's finest, before me here so that I may see the strength of his forces. Now, state your name and specialty, and terrorize!"
Klaw-hammer, none too pleased at how Stormclaw addressed him, nevertheless steps in front of the rest of the warriors. Might as well get this over with. He won't take me now that I've stood up to him, anyway.
"The name's Klaw-hammer, sir. I'm a warrior, that's all. My specialty is crushing heads and cracking ribs." He snaps his large claw together in emphasis.
"Klaw-hammer, Terrorize!" The large Pred's legs unlock from his ribs and flip out. His carapace slides up and covers his vulnerable back and his powerful arms shift into their locked position. His robot head slides into his chest and two stalk eyes appear from under his shell. He had transformed into his Ghost crab mode.
The next that stepped forward was organic, and had a skin slimy, dim and scarred. Another aquatic mode, a shark, he wouldn't stand in his beast mode in these corridors, and didn't seem as if he was planning on trying. His voice was thick and slow, unlike the other warrior's, and his eyes were a dim blue, and never blinked. "I'm Tiburon. And my speciality's takin' what Maximals have... be lives or treasure."
Another organic Predacon, green and grey, stood next to him, his arms crossed. His thick shoulders were decorated with horns and scales. The head of a komodo dragon comprised his chest. Not quite as tall as Klaw-hammer, he was just as broad, and just as loud. "I'm Korodon, and I'm getting bored just STANDING here, so point me in the direction of something I can break for you!" He pounded the wall behind him for emphasis.
Inwardly, Stormclaw sighed. It seemed a miracle Boss Balt's Trading Post had survived this long—if these where his finest warriors... Of course, Stormclaw knew perfectly well why this Station was still running. Not because of that Thief Boss, no... all that idiot could do was drink energon and watch dancing females.
Stormclaw looked to the right for his answer. Commander Moltor.
The crew of the Whisper could very well use another Predacon. But regrettably, Moltor would probably never come with them. Stormclaw would easily make him Second in command. But then again, if Dark Dragon and the pirates where ever to work together... It would be impossible to present this bunch of rag-tag pillagers to Lord Serascar. In fact, perhaps Stormclaw had to dismiss his plan alltogether.
The red and black Transmetal Cybertron was now walking slowly around Klaw-hammer. The other two Predacons were a joke—Stormclaw had enough brainless automatons on his crew already. Although this crab-bot had tried his patience by commenting on his actions against Paradox, there was something about the huge Predacon that captured the Commander's attention.
"Tiburon, Korodon, that will be all." he simply stated. He waited for the warriors to leave the room, then addressed Moltor.
"Commander, my gratitude for the demonstration. Your troops certainly posses... strength." Stormclaw tilted his head slightly. "And strength is one thing I would not mind adding to my current crew. Please tell me, Commander Moltor, do you think Boss Balt would mind lending one of his warriors to me, for a proper compensation?"
Although Stormclaw did not turn around and point at Klaw-hammer, it was obvious he meant the large Ghost crab with those words.
Hmm... Well, if this don't beat all. He's asking about me. Best not to speak up right now. Let Commander Moltor handle this situation. Klaw-hammer wiggled his stalk eyes a little bit, then transformed.
"Klaw-hammer, Terrorize!" He said again, a bit quieter this time. The process for his beast mode quickly reversed and he stood again at his full height. He crossed his claws across his chest, waiting for Moltor's decision.
"I believe he would allow it." He looked at Klaw-hammer. "If this is your choice, I will inform the Boss."
Stormclaw took Moltor's hand and shook it firmly. "No need for that, Commander, I shall speak to Boss Balt myself," he stated, already walking back towards the Chief's room. "I would appreciate it if you would transfer Klaw-hammer's background log to the Whisper, and arrange any compensations needed with my Second in command. It was a pleasure meeting you, Moltor. Remember that Dark Dragon rewards loyal warriors such as yourself well. Think about it."
Turning around, Stormclaw addressed the other Predacon.
"And Klaw-hammer, my ship will depart in under a megacycle, I suggest you are on time."
With that, Stormclaw disappeared in to Boss Balt's chamber.
...Loyal warriors... Moltor chuckled softly at Stormclaw's retreating back. If only he KNEW.
—AF, KCS, BB, DN
Aspis was a bit disappointed. No fistfights, no cheating, just a few people running through and the game ending in an upturned table. And now the snake couldn't even join in! Ah well, he just got up and looked around, deciding to move to play a game of Blackjack. So long as he kept his head, one could play the odds to almost always profit.
As he was fishing for rumors, Skitterbug hadn't been keeping good tabs on his station. Not able to make much out of the commotion, other than the Maximals' hasty departure, he wandered back to his table only to find a newcomer milling in the area. The serpent was a smaller Predacon; in beast mode, Skitterbug assumed he would come up to the top of his legs, even low to the ground as he was.
The bug tried to keep to shadows as he approached; he hoped to startle the other Predacon when he spoke. "Can I help you?"
Aspis was a little jarred by the appearance of a roach out of a seemingly empty table. He jumped a bit, then started laughing. "Boo!" he said, then chuckled a little more and shook his head before requesting a game. Ah, practical jokers were always his favorite.
The snake sat down at a stool and gave one last good chuckle before throwing down a chip and waiting for the cards.
The roach raised a brow a moment (as much as a roach could) spoke, "Terrorize," and stood up. He walked behind the desk, and began a shuffle. "You're new around here, aren't you?" he asked conversationally. "A member of a visiting crew?"
Aspis nodded, leaning forward a little to make up for the backless stool. "Just got in from Cybertron. I'm not even sure what we're doing, but..." He shrugged. "For now, at least, I am trying to win some money. Now deal, yeah?"
Skitterbug flipped a card in Aspis's direction, but he didn't care much about the deal just yet, sending out his feelers in the dust. "You wouldn't happen to be traveling with a bear-type, would you? About..." He reached his hand as tall as he possibly could. "Yay high?"
Aspis looked at the hand, then stood up abruptly and stood on his chair. He put his hands as high into the air as he could. "Maybe more here..." Then he lets his arms drop and sat back down. "But yeah. Why'd you ask?" He glanced at his cards and gestured for a hit.
The roach placed a card in front of Aspis, and one in front of himself. "An old acquaintance of mine. And, not to spread rumors, but it seems of one of the Maximals, as well."
Aspis raised his eyebrows at the roach at the news, as the next card was dealt. "Really? Hm, interesting. Good or bad sort of acquaintance, you know?"
"Speaking terms. Drinking buddy terms, as a matter of fact. I wonder how your commander would feel about that..."
Aspis shook his head a little. "Naah, as far as I know, he really doesn't care about what any of us have DONE." He scraped his card on the table, asking for a hit. "For all I know, one of us could be a serial murderer." He smiled wanly.
Skitterbug placed Aspis's hit, but nothing for himself. "We're all Predacons here... murder is a relative term." This hire-on didn't seem to know much about the Lord, and Skitterbug lost interest. More important to cheat the little snake out of his money. "I'm sticking."
The snake nodded, asking for another hit. It was probably none too smart to stand at the twelve he had, anyways.
The next card he was pushed was up-side down...
Aspis knew, he KNEW the next card was going to be something that was a ten. He'd been EXPECTING the roach to cheat, and while he was very good at it, Aspis knew pretty much all the tricks in the book there were to cheating.
Sure enough, he flipped the card over and it was a king; Megatron on one half, Optimus on the other. But the snake had been expecting this, and he too had a trick or two to play... Concentrate, he thought. Remember your training. He took a few deep breaths...and let a grin spread slowly across his face. His spark started to glow subtly.
He looked up, straight into the eyes of Skitterbug, and let his grin splay wider. His gaze unwavering...his concentration unhindered... His eyes began to match the green color of his spark as he flipped the king over.
"Look," he said. "Twenty one."
The roach blinked, and looked at the cards. His mind reeled. "Twenty-one..." he repeated, slowly. Still seeming a bit dazed, he flipped over his own top card. He had a twenty, usually enough to win, but... not with the twenty-one he had no choice but to visuallize over Aspis's twenty-two deal. Still entranced, he pushed a pile of energon in the snake's direction. "I guess you win."
Aspis grinned a little wider as he took his chips off the table. "Wow, thanks!" Then he flipped his cards over and stood up. "Yeah, pleasure playing with you, but I gotta bail. See you around, man!" Then he turned quickly and walked off.
Let's see, up to my usual standards? He turned down an alley and stood in the shadows, then checked with his clock. If this was as good as usual, the ruckus would start in four...three...two...one...
"THAT SWINDLING SERPENT!" came a cry from around the corner. "How DARE he cheat the best?!" There was the sound of a crash, and the roar of conversation in the station suddenly increased.
Aspis clapped his hands and even let a little giggle escape. Then he turned and walked off toward the hangar, since it didn't look like he could stay in the square much longer here. People might be LOOKING for him. Heh...it was fun to be wanted.
—AF, KH
"Just a megacycle, huh? Well, I guess that means I better get ready to leave..." Klaw-hammer was talking to himself, of course. He headed off for his chamber to get some of his personal belongings, but a ruckus in the gambling sector caught his attention.
"Huh? Wonder what's going on over there..." Klaw-hammer wandered over to investigate. Skitterbug was making a lot of trouble over being tricked by a snake at the Blackjack table.
Serves the little bug right... Klaw-hammer walked over and threw an arm around the roach's shoulder.
"Squish, buddy. Let's not cause a problem here. Lemme walk ya back to your desk." The two of them exited the mini-casino and headed back to Skitterbug's little spot.
"Why are you going out of your way to find me, Klaw-hammer?" Skitterbug, back behind his old desk, was a bit confused.
"Oh, I'm going off-post with this new group of Preds, and I need to increase my stash of Energon chips." Klaw-hammer stood in front of the desk, looking down.
"Wanna play me and try your luck, then?" Skitterbug was already reaching down into his desk to get some cards.
"Not exactly..." Klaw-hammer clamped down on Skitterbug's head and lifted him into the air.
"HEY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING? LET GO OF ME!" Skitterbug struggled to escape.
"No can do, Squish. Gotta have the chips that I lost to you. And, I might as well help myself to a little of your stash, too..." Klaw-hammer slammed Skitterbug into a nearby table, knocking him out for a while. He then proceeded to loot the desk, taking all of the money he lost plus a little more.
"Thanks, Squish. I'll never forget ya... At least, not until I run out of Energon Chips." Klaw-hammer laughed as he walked out of the bar and towards the Whisper, still in dock.
—KCS