A Trap for Misfire

Tuesday, April 17, 2012, 4:21 PM

Valles Marineris

The magnificent Valles Marineris valley system is comprised of a multitude of valleys and canyons stretching 3,000 miles, from the Tharsis Planitia at the western end of the canyon system to the Elysium Planitia at the east end. The region is filled with extinct volcanos and other peculiar geological findings. The atmosphere is almost 80 percent carbon dioxide here, rising to well over 95% further east and making it hazardous for those who need to breath oxygen.

Amber MacKenzie is in her secret hidey hole, and the long, boring hours of waiting for something to happen finally pay off. She spies a Decepticon incoming, and quietly radios a warning to the Allies below. "One Decepticons," she murmurs, describing him to someone who may know better.

Misfire There is the Decepticon Misfire. The boxy shaped Deception sports a bright magenta paint job across his chest, forearms, and shins. The thigh and upper arms are a shiny silvery color that provides a sharp contrast to the magenta battle armor. His dark black feet are crisply polished and almost seem to glint. The same shiny black color has been applied to his helmet and hands. Rising from his back are two magenta spires that almost seem to frame his head. His white face contains a slight smirk of self confidence. Where the eyes should be exists a red wrap around band which may be covering sea-green eyes. Last thing of note is that his Decepticon Badge seems to shine brighter than anything else on his body.

Misfire comes flying low over the horizon with Aimless perched on his back. He grumbles to himself. "Slag Aimless, you couldn't keep your mouth shut. Now we have to patrol out in the badlands near the Auto-Scum base." Aimless whaps Misfire's back. "How was I to know the duty officer was a dishwasher before the war..." Misfire just sighs. "Keep on the look out!"

Amber MacKenzie flattens herself into the dust, her dusty camouflage blending in quite nicely. She has an excellent view of the canyon from her spy nest at the top of the cliff and makes herself useful by pointing out any Decepticon positions and movements to those who wait below.

Misfire continues to roar into the area with Aimless on his back and perhaps a tape attached to his chest. He comes to a beacon. "Hrm...that is weird I am receiving a distress call..." He lands and begins walking while placing Aimless on the ground. Aimless follows behind Misfire and yawns.

Slugfest is attached to Misfire's chest, maglocked in tape mode. "Where are going?" the little stegotape wonders.

Misfire pulls off Slugfest off his chest and places the tape towards the Ground. "Thrust wants us to scout for a location for Project: Arts and Crafts..." He lets out a chuckle. "Then Aimless mouthed off to the Duty Officer so we got assigned this sector. So we are killing two ener-birds with a uh, uh..." He ponders. "With a pistol." Aimless just lets out a sigh.

Amber MacKenzie waits and watches, hoping that this Decepticon goes just the right way... She lies on her stomach, staring as the guy steps closer and closer... Gah! She can't see well enough from the top of the cliff to see if he's going to trigger the trip wire... YES!!! There's a low vibration followed by a rumble as a huge, delicately-balanced boulder is somehow loosened from the cliff side above Misfire and begins to tumble down, catching up all loose rock in its path. AVALANCHE!!!

Misfire continues to trudge along as he feels something across his shin. "Hrmmm...That's odd." The sound of the large rocks roar as the fly down towards him. He looks at Aimless and Slugfest. "Y'all hear anything?" Aimless just turns and runs in the opposite direction. "Nice knowing you Misfire, I wonder if that Spinister mech is hiring, he seems so mysterious and cool...Or Needlenose...or anyone else." Misfire turns and shakes a fist at Aimless. "You little backstabber!" With that, the rocks tumble on top of Misfire, knocking him down and trapping him!

Amber MacKenzie manages to restrain herself from leaping up and dancing. Instead, and more boringly, she simply radios that the purple guy triggered the avalanche and looks like he's down. The noise, though... She takes a careful look around to make sure no others were drawn by the sound. Nothing... yet.

Hmmmm. Behind her helmet's plexiglass, her green eyes narrow as she catches motion down there. Bad Amber, she missed one. Er, two. Two smaller figures. Ah hah, she recognizes one. The stegosaurus. The other is running so fast she almost can't get a look at him, then he veers in her direction. Nebulan, she thinks. With nothing better at hand (she's not going to risk a gunshot), she tosses a head-sized, twisted chunk of rock downwards.

It isn't meant to hit the guy; she's just tossing it to flush him back towards his fallen companion. It pings off the side of the cliff on the way down, but fortunately for Aimless, doesn't result in yet another avalanche. Instead, it gains a great amount of speed and rolls across the canyon like a gunshot, so fast that it looks more like a deformed critter than a stone.

Slugfest is stuck under the rocks with Misfire! He transforms and kicks little feets. "Get boulders off!"

Aimless points and laughs as the rocks pile on top of Misfire and Slugfest. As the last tiniest pebble clanks off the pile. He grabs his chest as he finally stops laughing. He then jerks his head as he hears something. He points at the rock monster rolling towards him. "SLAG! MISFIRE HELP?! ROCK CREATURE!" He then turns to run, trips over a boulder and continues to scramble away. "Oh slag...Oh slag...oh slag..." He pauses takes a sip of his flask, "No point going to the afterlife sober..." He mumbles to himself before scrambling again.

Meanwhile under the rocks, "Slugfest! You're alive!!!" Misfire cheers. "Can you rev your plates, so we can cut our way out?"

Aimless was yelling loud enough for her to hear, and Amber is pleased with the success of her rock monster. She looks carefully around again, especially to the northwest; they could have radioed for help, and she's beginning to worry. Still no one in sight, so she picks up an even more evil-looking rock and hurls it over the cliff. Who knew that her fine, polygonal rocks would come in handy as instruments of terror?

Slugfest starts sawing away! The rocks are pushed aside if they're not pulverized until gradually he can see daylight again.

Misfire emits a few grunts and howls of pain as rock chips crack away at his armor. "I see...I see light...Keep going Slugfest!"

Aimless whews as the first rock monster misses him. He then looks up as the second rock comes rolling down towards him. "Primus! The mate is now after me..." He looks at the Avalanche of Rocks. "A nest?" He muses out loud as he takes another sip from his flask as he scrambles off again...this time howling like a banshee.

Amber MacKenzie doesn't dare throw any more. She fidgets in frustration as the Decepticons are working their way free. Bloody hell, where's Grimlock when you need him? Or even Repugnus? There's only one trap left; there was no time for any others, what with mining the base, so she waits for the Decepticons to escape the one trap.

Aimless collapses after escaping the second rock. He lies on the ground panting. "Ughhhhh...Primus save me." He tilts his head towards Misfire and Slugfest. "Hurry up, guys!!!" He runs over attempts to move a rock, fails...collapses and sips his flask. "Hurry!"

Slugfest keeps sawing! "All rocks off yet? No can tell!"

Misfire reaches through the hole, as Slugfest's plates knick his armor. "OWWWW!" He continues to push his hand through..."I..I..I fear air!" He lets out a cheer! "We're going to live!"

Under more normal circumstances, Amber would feel sorry for these guys, but her view of the conflict has narrowed to a them-or-us perspective. If they don't die, then she or her fellow humans will. Still in cover, she scowls down at them and wishes for Galvatron's cannon. A bit of overkill, but it would do the job. Her pistol might - and has - taken out an optic, but she has no backup here, and she can't take on the Nebulan, let alone a full-sized Decepticon. With a disgruntled sigh, she rolls away from the cliff's edge to stare northwestwards. No new contacts. Rolling back, she calms down and waits. Either they fall for it, or they don't.

Misfire continues to reach through the rocks as he continues to help Slugfest. "Almost there Slugfest..." He lets out a grunt. "You doing ok? I'll buy some energon when we get back to Trypticon!"

Aimless stares at the cliff as he pulls himself up. "I think the Auto-Scum who did this ran towards Trypticon!" He takes a sip of his flask. "He was HUGE! Bigger than Grimlock!"

Slugfest saw saw saw. "Okay!" he says eagerly, his little thagomizer wagging as he pushes through the rocks.

Misfire boasts Slugfest through the hole. "You clear? Slugfest!" He then begins to worm his way through. His armors seems badly damaged, broken in multiple parts with energon leaking out of his wounds and electricity crackling along his frame. "Ugh..."

Aimless tries to help, but doesn't really offer any help. So Aimless drinks from his flask again.

Amber MacKenzie is grudgingly impressed that the damaged Misfire looked first to his companions' welfare before his own. She's also impressed with how much Aimless drinks, but not in the same way. She frowns at her own thoughts, idly brushing dust over the indentation she left in her nest, and tells herself that even if Misfire isn't a total monster, he'd probably kill her without a second thought. No more rocks are thrown, but if they go in just the right direction, they'll be in trouble. If they don't, then they make it out without further problems.

Slugfest hops down through the rubble and runs up to Aimless, begging for a sip from the flask.

Misfire begins to pull himself out of the rocks as his optic bar flickers, after much squirming, grunting, maybe tears....Misfire squirts out and lands face first on the ground. He rolls over on his back as he lives. "By the Chaos Bringer that hurt..." He glances over towards Slugfest and notes the Stego seems ok.He then pushes himself up and dusts himself off. "Ugh...stupid Mars Goats."

Aimless wipes the mouth of the flask as he gives it to Slugfest. "Good work Slugfest." He waves at Misfire. "So glad you made it...I was just kidding, about earlier!" Misfire raises a fist towards him and then shrugs. "PRIMUS!" he bellows as he walks over to the pair. "Y'all ready to head back to base?"

Disappointed that the first catch of the day managed to escape, Amber rolls to face upwards and glares up at the pretty stars. Regardless of their innocence, she's still mad. Curses, foiled again! All that work for nothing! She sighs regretfully and remembers that there's more traps left, and maybe they'll catch someone like Viator.

Slugfest slurps back the contents of the flask like a baby with a bottle.

Misfire smiles at Slugfest and grabs Aimless by the scruff of his neck. "Come on..." Aimless punches at Misfire, but tires and passes out after a few punches and kicks. Misfire tosses Aimless over his shoulder and hauls him back to base as he reaches down to scoop up Slugfest. "Come on! Let's go get some of Dirge's private stock! Remember, we were attacked by a giant...Autobot!"