SAR Smackdown

Zurich, Switzerland

Often referred to as the "Garden City on the Lake", Zurich is also the most important commercial and economic center in Switzerland, the capital of high finance. Divided by the scenic River Limmat and nestled on the edge of Lake Zurich, it is a bustling metropolis with many new universities, institutions, and other modern construction, but also with a wealth of restored historic buildings such as the centuries-old St. Peter's Church, elegant guildhouses, and turn-of-the-century patrician mansions with their perfectly manicured gardens. Distant, snowy mountains overlook the lake, clearly reflected in its still blue depths.

Flying over the Garden City on the Lake, Coldwar maintains a low profile as he hugs close to the surface on patrol through the land of Switzerland. So far things had been rather quiet- something that was actually somewhat welcome considering the past several engagements so close together in grids Epsilon (U.S.A.) and Iota (China). Contrary to popular belief the Decepticon was no warmonger, but rather just a bit more vigilant than the average member of the faction... Indeed, Straxus would likely have liked this one quite a bit.

 Coldwar says, "DEC-511 Coldwar reporting from grid Eta. Enroute to nav-point Mu."

There's a tank in Switzerland, and it's tracking the Decepticon flying overhead. "Wham, Pow, KAZAM!" the red tank exclaims, "I got me a Decepticon Tinfoil Turkey Shoot!" He lobs a laser shot at the airborne menace. After all, if it wears the purple koolaid sigil, shoot it down!

Combat: Warpath misses Eagle Eye UAV  with his Disruptor attack!

 Coldwar says, "Taking fire from unknown source. Over."

 Impudent Fool Backfire says, "Position recieved, WHAT?? Please report source of disturbance Coldwar, over."

 Coldwar says, "Copy that. Moving to investigate. Standby- Over."

Well, he certainly wasn't expecting that...or was he? With vigilance status always set on high alert the Decepticon Soldier manages to avoid the first burst of incoming laser fire as if he had seen it coming a kilometer away. Still, with the source of fire unknown it served him very little until he could properly locate the aggressor. A brief transmission to Command, and then Coldwar began to ascend- initiating a deep search of the surrounding terrain with what can only be described as a better than average targetting system.

Combat: Coldwar analyzes Warpath for weaknesses.

 Coldwar says, "Target identified as Autobot designated Warpath. Currently in tank alt-mode. Reinforcement may be advised- Over."

 Impudent Fool Backfire says, "What's your position, over."

 Impudent Fool Backfire groans, "Is that near Iceland or Greenland?"

 Coldwar says, "Standby...Zurich, Switzerland."

The Tank shivers as the damaging cold attack rushes over his armor, chilling his circuits. "WHAM, that's ZOW, COLD!" he exclaims, "How about I, BAM, heat things up for you?" His tank-barrel loads up a thermal shell, and he aims it at Coldwar. The Tank nearly kicks back with the recoil as the shell fires.

Combat: Warpath strikes Coldwar with his Thermal Shells attack!

The building behind which Coldwar had crouched erupts in a fireball, the explosion throwing him clear of it and back first into an adjacent structure of greater stature- leaving a nice imprint and a hail of falling glass in his wake. Hitting the ground in a crouch, the Soldier loosened a grunt. "Ow... Frag me," he murmurs before shaking his head, sending shards of glass and debris falling from atop his head. "I hate tanks..." comes his next almost whispered comment before he takes aim again with his Frostbite Cannon, all the while back-peddling away from the tank to try and seek cover behind the next building in line. Unfortunately, bloody civilian presence was everywhere making pickings quite slim...

Warpath hates tanks too. Well, he hates Blitzwing and Brawl, specifically. "Yeah, I'll POW, frag you up good!" he says to Coldwar. His turret spins as he reorients, managing to just miss getting hit by that deepfreeze blast again. He advances slowly but surely, pursuing Coldwar while trying to keep a steady target lock. He lets out another energy blast, to clear the debris between himself and the Decepticon.

Combat: Warpath strikes Coldwar with his Disruptor attack!

Coldwar growls as he's struck by a hard rain of debris, which seems to strike him squarely enough to force a backward tumble. "Okay, too many civilians in this area... This is why I can't stand urban warfare," he muses to himself, shaking his head before leaping backward as his body transforms. There was certainly another way that just might favor him in this rendezvous- a hit and run strategy known to be the bane of most tanks. Oh how the other Decepticons would laugh at him for attempting to avoid civilian casualties. Perhaps it was a good thing that the reinforcements he'd advised hadn't shown up yet afterall.

Gears grind, pistons pump, and sheets of metallic frame click into place to form a HV-911 Eagle Eye UAV!

Combat: Coldwar analyzes Warpath for weaknesses.

The Decepticon's behavior puzzles the Red Tank. He's moving away from civilian areas? Well, thank the matrix for that, anyway. "You're not, POW, getting away THAT easy!" he shouts, lurching and aiming his turret, attempting to track the moving object as the Decepticon transforms and takes to the air. Another shot from his turret lances through the air. "KABLAM, take that!"

Combat: Warpath strikes Eagle Eye UAV  with his KAPOW! (Pistol) attack!

Springer has arrived.

Coldwar zigs, and he zags, but his zigging isn't quite ziggy enough to avoid the blast from the Autobot's turret. Striking one of his rotors the HV-911 whirrs and buzzes out of control, spinning around and around lead entirely by the tail section before finally it slams down on top of one of the mansion-style buildings farther from the heart of the city. "Slag..." the Decepticon Soldier mutters as the roof collapses under the weight of his chassis. Finding himself stuck, Coldwar attempts to transform only to worsen the damage to the building which he then falls completely through- getting himself stuck in the process. "Arrgh... My arm... Ain't this a FUBAR'd situation if there ever was one..."

Gears grind, pistons pump, and sheets of metallic frame click into place revealing a robot in disguise! But not one of the good guys... Oh no, it's Coldwar!

The Red Tank rolls up towards the stricken Coldwar. "WOO, I totally, ZAM, blew him outta the sky!" he exclaims, "Now to make sure that he stays down!" Since he's not very fast, it takes him a while to reach Coldwar's position.

It doesn't take long before Springer hears about the latest in Switzerland via the Wrecker-Hotline. Following the trail of smoke towards the mansion that Coldwar has managed to redecorate with a *CRASH* "If you hit Galvatron like that Warpath, the war would have been over by now!" emits the chopper smartly as it hovers over the crash site. Focusing a spotlight on Coldwar's precarious position, the Wrecker wonders if any other Decepticons are nearby. "Alright pal, didn't anyone ever tell you not to drink enerbrew and fly? Looks like you made a pretty bad decision."

A sharp jerk from one side to the other proves ineffective, as Coldwar attempts to free himself from the crossing of fallen support beams that have effectively pinned him to the ground. Ruby red optics flash at the sound of the incoming tank treads, and the Soldier shifts his attention into their direction. "Communications system damaged... Body pinned. Okay, stay frosty... Need to figure another way out," he tells himself, searching with cool, calm, collectiveness for any means of prying himself free of the support beam prison. Then something faint reaches his audio sensors, something that is entirely familiar. No way to mistake that sounds- it was a helicopter on the rise. "C'mon, Soldier... Think."

Too late, Springer was already upon him. At least his identification system was still working properly. "DEC-511, Cold Professional, Soldier." Coldwar responds while looking up at the 'Bot flier.

The Red Tank rolls up closer to Coldwar. "I thought I, ZOW, did," he says to Springer, "Or I would, if Big Mean and Purple would CLANG, stand still for a change." The tank barrel lowers, pointing down at the prone Coldwar. "Shall I BANG, give him another shot?" he asks.

 Coldwar aft-load of static interference. "C'mon...-rk. Com-...-own in gri-...-ta...equest...-Over."

 Harrow says, "Hm!"

The Red Tank rolls up closer to Coldwar. "I thought I, ZOW, did," he says to Springer, "Or I would, if Big Mean and Purple would CLANG, stand still for a change." The tank barrel lowers, pointing down at the prone Coldwar. "Shall I BANG, give him another shot?" he asks.

 Harrow says, "Contagion, you're in that area, what's going on?"

 Coldwar's transmission fizzles out.

 Harrow says, "Allll righty."

 Astrotrain says, "A'right fine, I'll take a look."

If there's one thing Springer liked it was a good fight with a Decepticon. Wrecker's were cool like that. "Hmmm...Well I'd tell you to blast him again Warpath, but that would be too easy. Like I've said before, if you can't fight them, then have fun with them." Dropping from the sky like a brick, the Autobot transforms just before he hits the ground with a soft thump. Cracking his knuckles he grins up at Coldwar pinned inside the mansion. "Alright pal, let's see if we can't give ya the Windshear treatment. It's pretty simple pal, the more you intel you give us, the less time you'll spend in the repair bay." Springer walks up closer to the crash scene, waving off some of the humans who were disturbed during their slumber. "I'd head for the hills if I was you folks. We're about to show this party crasher a lesson in Wreckernomics." With that, the triple-changer turns his attention back to Coldwar. "Alright pal, I'll give you a chance to save yourself /any/ pain from the start. Tell me about the latest plans you Deceptipunks have for Mexico."

Stupid radio. Of course it had to fizzle out at the worst possible time. He'd been lucky in battle so far, lucky in the war altogether. Reserved, and cool-headed it seemed that Coldwar was fully aware of the fact that at some point everyone's luck eventually runs out- even his. "Well...I'll say this," the downed Decepticon starts, hardened and defiant gaze peering down the barrel of Warpath's cannon. "You Autobots sure have changed. I remember when you stood for something. When you wouldn't dare initiate hostilities and open fire in a civilian heavy zone unless absolutely neccessary...I guess we're more alike now than I thought. Wonder if I should be glad- heh." Well, there it is. It looks like Coldwar prefers pain!

The Red Tank's cannon stays trained on Coldwar. "Okay, but if he moves, I'll WHACK, blow a hole in his chassis!" he announces. Part of him almost dares Coldwar to so much as twitch a servo. But since Springer's doing some interrogating, Warpath stays put, weapon at the ready. "Well, what about the Decepticons that KAPOW, go around blowing up everything in sight?" he retorts.

"You called?" Astrotrain announces, his voice carrying through the air a split second before his body drops from who knows how high at which point he'd cut out his anti-gravs. Descending like a missile, his big form impacts the ground with a heavy *THWOOM* of impact, causing small tremors through the earth as he absorbs the landing by dropping into a crouch. As he straightens, he oh so casually pulls his rifle free of mountings, the weapon chiming out a thick pulse as it comes online. "See this is the problem I got with Autobots that wanna get all tough and shooty and blow up everythin in sight."

He jerks a thumb to his own chest, "That's OUR shtick! You can't have it!"

In a chorus of shifting and spinning parts, Astrotrain's body spins and lifts up into his large robot mode.

F-16 Falcon <Harrow> coasts in tailing after Astrotrain, scanning the scenic mountains and towns below. No need to check the HUD for signals, as A-train has apparently located the unfortunate soldier. She scrambles to follow him, but stops to transform and hover just above the mansion with her pistol aimed. "Yeah, what he said!"

The dark blue F-16 Falcon Harrow transforms into her robot mode with a swift shift of components.

Theres an odd whizzing sound coming in from the distance whatever is making the sound, its getting louder and here comes the source its an odd looking hydrosled as it gets closer thestrange little vehicle flips and transforms into robot mode in the blink of an optic. Its the little Wrecker known as Topspin, "Hey.. sorry I'm late.. what'd I miss? Better be something worth wrecking round here!" he calls out as he waves his particle beam rifle about menacingly.

Coldwar squints- continuing to peer down the barrel of Warpath's weapon, and there is a bit of hesitation on his part before finally he makes his best attempt at a shrug. "That information is above my pay grade, so with all due respect you might as well get to blasting," is offered in response to Springer. "As for the other Decepticons? That's not my favorite pastime, but well... To each his own," Coldwar states before the ground beneath him rumbles violently as Astrotrain touches down, only to be followed by Harrow. "Looks like trouble on your Six."

"Alright pal, I guess you want to do this the hard way. That's fine by me. It's a lot more exciting then watching Perceptor talk about Xenobiology back at base." That's when Springer reaches back and send a /solid/ punch to the Decepticon who's hanging from the collapses roof structure. "Listen up...whatever your name is. In case you didn't already know about it, us Wreckers are a different breed of Autobots. We're here to get the job done for our side, end of story." Just as the green-armored Autobot is about to swing back one of his legs for a kick, he's distracted by Astrotrain and Harrow's arrival. Glancing at Warpath with a 'get your guns out' nod, Springer withdraws his own Photon Blaster. "Ah, Astrotrain and Harrow, thanks for showing up. Looks like your pal took a little spill here and now he's in a bit of a pinch." Moving his weapon to aim at Coldwar's head, he offers a devious grin, "Tell ya what. If he tells me what I want to know, I'll let him go right now and you guys can still back at base in time for bingo night." The arrival of Topsin adds a little insurance for the Autobot team.

<Decepticon> Harrow says, "Listen to this clown..."

The turret on the tank spins and locks on to one of the other Decepticons. "So you wanna play too, BAM! Well that's fine with me. I may not be a Wrecker, but I sure, ZOWIE, fit right in!" He pauses to let Springer's words sink in. "Oh, Topspin. You're just in time to BANG, waste these Decepticons!"

Harrow twirls her pistol and laughs, "We'll just replace his head! I'm sure he doesn't need it all that much, right soldier?" She wags her finger at Springer and Warpath. "This mech is tight-lipped, and he probably doesn't have any valuable information anyway, so let's make this easy; scram!"

Astrotrain actually blinks as Springer turns the gunpoint towards Coldwar's head, having that look on his face like something totally unexpected just happened in front of him. "Wait, are you actually tryin to threaten us with..." He points, for good measure. "...do you -really- think that's gonna work on.."

And just like that, he doubles over slightly, suddenly letting out a heavy series of guffaws. Even though he hardly needs to breathe, it's almost as if he's out of breath from laughing so hard. "Bwahahahahaha! Are you fraggin -insane-? Ahhhhahahahaha!"

And just in the blink of an eye, Astrotrain goes from laughing to action, snapping up and firing a wide beam blast from his rifle at Springer's direction. Whether or not Coldwar is in the blast radius....well yeah these are -Decepticons- you're dealing with, right? "Frag you, you big green robotoad! Hey Coldwar, just remember! Pain makes ya stronger!"

Combat: Your COMBAT flag has been cleared.

Combat: Removing analysis data for Warpath.

Combat: Your analysis data is now out of date.

Combat: Astrotrain misses Cybertronian Helicopter <Springer> with his Ionic Displacer Rifle Area attack! [Pulled -4]

Combat: Astrotrain strikes Coldwar with his Ionic Displacer Rifle Area attack! [Pulled -4]

"Haha, robotoad!" Harrow laughs.

With a flurry of sounds, Springer transform into his mean green robot form!

Ow. That Autobot can hit... Coldwar shakes his head, casting aside the haze that briefly filled his vision. The weapon aimed at his head doesn't come as much of a surprise, as he's already had a tank cannon aimed at it for the past several nano-cycles. These Autobots were certainly lacking in imagination. "Uh, unit...Springer. That's really not going to work. In fact you're probably going to get us both... Yeah." Coldwar is struck by the force of Astrotrain's attack, the columns pinning him to the ground flying about as far as his chassis as he goes flipping through the air only to land atop yet another building. "Thank you, Sir... Ma'am. Might I add that both of you have quite a way with words..." About then a piece of the Soldier's chest plating falls off- making a pancake out of a parked Volkswagon Beetle.

Just when you thought you were crazy, a Decepticon came in and stole the show. Eh, it was the life of being an Autobot with an edge. Leaping out of the way with all the speed of a helicopter, Springer is able to just barely avoid Astrotrain's incoming volley. A few blasts tear through the side of the mansion they're near, but that's the least of the Autobot's worries. His short-term prisoner has just been sent flying by the Decepticon triple-changer. "Ah, I never liked the guy anyway. Something about him was just a little cold for me." Springer dryly offers as he picks up one of the mansion's chandeliers and flings it at Astrotrain like an over-grown frisbee. "Here's a taste of the finer things in life pal!" Springer also opens his radio in the process and throws out a quick message to his team.

Topspin runs towards Astrotrain, perhaps its part of his size complex, the desire to knock down the biggest opponent over comes his logic sensors of targetting the most injured on the fild. The small Jumpstarter leaps igh into the air and readies his silver rifle, "Hey.. no one insults a Wrecker like that!!!" he squeezes the trigger and fires off several lances beansof blue enery at the Decepticon triplchanger. Then he adds, "Hey.. no fragging your own people.. cuz, then who will WE shoot?!"

Combat: Topspin misses Astrotrain with his Particle Beam Rifle attack!

"Now see here," the Red Tank says, "I'm goona SLAM, blow a hole in your wing!" He aims his turret at Harrow. "See how far you can, ZING, fly after that!" A blast charges up and lances out from the barrel of the tank. "KAZAM!" Warpath shouts, as he recoils.

Combat: Warpath strikes Harrow with his Holey Wings? (Pistol) attack!

Harrow cackles at the fight unfolding. "YOU FIGHT LIKE FEMMES!" she shouts at both Topspin and Springer, before Warpath's blast sears a nice neat hole in her right wing. "HEY! YOU GROUNDPOUNDER! You just wait... I'll come back for YOU!" She turns to join Coldwar atop the adjacent building. "Well... I've seen worse." She crouches and runs her scanner over him, muttering something about wacky obscure altmodes.

Combat: Harrow runs a diagnostic check on Coldwar

Combat: Harrow quickly patches up some of Coldwar's minor injuries.

Astrotrain ducks low as the chandelier flies over where his head was just a moment ago. "See now here's where ya take notes!" He calls out in Coldwar's direction, while reloading his rifle with a fresh clip, the spent one falling to the ground with a heavy *THUD*. "Autobots like to talk about how they're all righteous and fair play, and yet they're still the first ones to doubleteam ya first chance they get! And even when they decide to start playin by our rules...they STILL can't do it right!" His foot thrusters ignite, jinking him left, right, then left again as he 'dances' between the lancing beams of Topspin's particle rifle, while simultaneously closing the distance between him and the jumpstarter, the size difference between them becoming VERY evident as he winds up with one big fist to quite simply try and plow Topspin into the ground with a hammerlike blow. "Whatsamatter, Springer!?" he taunts at the same time. "Everytime it looks like we're gonna play hardball over who's the toughest mech you always gotta bring one of your sidekicks fer a sneak attack. Scared!?"

Combat: Astrotrain misses Topspin with his Astro-Beating attack!

Pushing up from the demolished roof of the next building, Coldwar shakes off several large chunks of debris after being expertly patched up by Harrow. "Thanks, Doc," he offers and then leaps into the air, his form suddenly shifting from robot to said wacky obscure altmode. "Feel good as new..." he says, proving himself not exactly the best liar. Pulling back from the engagement area a ways the Soldier scans the nearest target for Astrotrain's benefit.

Combat: Coldwar sets his defense level to Protected.

Gears grind, pistons pump, and sheets of metallic frame click into place to form a HV-911 Eagle Eye UAV!

Combat: Coldwar analyzes Springer for weaknesses Astrotrain can exploit.

<Decepticon> Coldwar says, "DEC-511 communications back online."

Alright so maybe Springer wasn't going to be the next Frisbee Pro on the beach this summer, but at least he could still trash useless objects with the best of them. With Astrotrain taking aim for Topspin, the Wrecker Quarterback has some extra time to setup his next plan of action. "What's the matter with YOU Astrotrain?! I fling a perfectly good chandelier at you and you go after my Wreckin' pal?! I'm right here if you want me! Any cycle of the year." Dropping to the ground, Springer goes from robot to Cybertronain Race Car in the blink of an optic. Spinning his tires in the countryside gravel, it doesn't take long before the Wrecker is headed on a collision course with the Decepticon triple-changer. "Remember pal, when you mess with one Autobot, you mess with all of us. Now let me introduce you to my hood!"

Springer quickly shifts into a mean green, Cybertronian Race Car!

Combat: Cybertronian Race Car <Springer> strikes Astrotrain with his Wreck 'N' Ram attack! [Pulled -2]

Topspin watches as a gigantic shadow comes in his direction and for once his small size comes in handy. He ducks below Astrotrain's gigantic fist which seemed intent on making him the smaller Wrecker ever. He magnetizes the ifle to his back and scurries to a safe distance from the enormous triplechanger, "I'll show you that I may be small.. But I'll wreck all over your face you big goonbot!" he raises both arms and lets loose a flurry of blasts at the Mr Big and Purple. He watches Springer in action and cheers for his fellow Wrecker, "Yeah, show him who's the better triplechanger!!"

Combat: Topspin strikes Astrotrain with his Two-Fisted Lasers attack!

What's this? Harrow starts fixing Coldwar? Can't have that! The Red Tank takes another shot at the Decepticon Medic. "Hey, if you keep fixing em, ZAM, I can't keep em knocked down!" he shouts. He fires at Harrow again, trying to get her away from Coldwar so she can't keep patching him up.

Combat: Warpath strikes Harrow with his Get Away from there! (Disruptor) attack!

Harrow gets blasted right in the back this time, and she whirls around in a swirling cloud of sparking smoke. "You want my attention, you got it!" Finally setting her sights on Warpath, she leaps from the building to hover in front of him with one hand in a fist and the other squeezing the trigger of her ice pistol. Insert terrible Mr. Freeze pun here.

Combat: Harrow sets her defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Harrow strikes Warpath with her Ice Pistol attack!

Astrotrain raises one arm to protect his face from the lasers that Topspin is firing in his own direction, snarling a bit as once again his attempts to get Springer into a mano a mano showdown are getting interfered with. "Yeah that's typical..." he growls, black scorch marks appearing on his forearm where the lasers make contact. "Autobots always gotta pack some backup for the fights that they ain't mechly enough to handle on their own...HURF!" He lurches back a bit from the impact of the cybertronian car agianst his chest, his large hands grabbing to either side of the fenders to steady himself as he's driven backwards several body lengths. "Nice hood." He growls out, feet digging up heavy divots in the ground as he glares back at the other triplechanger, then suddenly starts to transform as well. Now -usually- when he does this, he ends up right-side up, but this time there's a little difference in how he shifts, and winds up as his huge locomotive form...

Standing upright, balanced on its back end, wobbling for just a moment before it starts to topple over towards Springer. "...now let me introduce ya to my WHEELS!"

Armor locks in place, parts shift and Astrotrain transforms into a huge armored train!

Combat: Armored Locomotive sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Armored Locomotive strikes Cybertronian Race Car <Springer> with his Squish attack!

Coldwar begins to fly in a defensive formation. His armor took a nasty hit from that nice little blast of friendly fire. Oh, how great it is to be a Decepticon, right? Rotors shift to their upright hover position, and the Decepticon makes to strafe the engagement area delivering more target data to the Decepticons on the ground. <<This one's for you, Doc- Over,>> is noted to the Field Medic. <<Give 'em hell.>>

Somewhere Springer could have just sworn he heard someone say 'ICE to see you' but then again maybe it was just a random memory of an ice-cream vendor popping back into his data banks.

Forget about ice cream though! Suddenly, the triple-changer is staring at the undercarriage of locomotive and here come the wheels! Slamming on the brakes, the Cybertronian Race Car tries to avoid Astrotrain's falling form, but it's all in vain.


 * CRUNNNNCH*

The weight of the heavy locomotive crushes into Springer's hood, clipping it at just the right angle to send the vehicle flipping back-end-first over Astrotrain. And then comes another meeting with the ground.


 * CRRRAASSH*

Sitting idle for a few moments, the vehicle's hood looks like it ticked off a huge waffle iron. Although the Cybertronian Race Car has just taken one /heck/ of a hit, it's engine is still running. "Looks like you've been packing on the pounds again pal! What's the matter? Galvatron find someone cooler to do his bidding and now you're sitting around the house eating energon chips?" Even bad insults were good enough for early morning cartoon writers at this stage of the game. Springer pops out a pair of laser cannons from his front-quarter panels as he makes a dash towards the Decepticon once more, albeit with a bigger repair bill.

Combat: Cybertronian Race Car <Springer> strikes Armored Locomotive with his Mean Green Drive-By attack!

Just what the doctor ordered, more ice! It's too bad the Red Tank doesn't have any sprained muscles. As it is, his systems try warming themselves up as the cold washes over him. "BRRR, are you trying to turn me into a CLANG, popsicle?" he wonders, "I've had enough of the YOW, deep-freeze treatment! Here, have this, it's a KAPOW, Sonic Shell!" Warpath's tankbarrel recoils as the solid ammunition sails through it and out towards Harrow. "Your audios are goona KAZOW, ring!"

Combat: Warpath strikes Harrow with his Sonic Shells attack!

Topspin narrows his optics as Astrotrain injures Springer, "Why you slaggin.. pile of.. I'll show YOU who’s a fraggin sidekick!" he unmagnetizes the rifle on his back and takes a knee and steadies the weapon against his shoulder, "You mess with one Wrecker, you mess with all of us!" he tries to take careful aim at the gigantic locomotive but can't find a weak spot. Aw, slag it.. he'll just shoot the thing in it's Decepticon symbol. With the weapon set on it's highest setting. A thin beam of particle death streaks at Astrotrain when the trigger is squeezed.

Harrow scowls as Warpath continuously lands his annoying hits, which continue to grow more annoying as high-powered shells batter her armor and fry her audials. She can't even hear herself curse Warpath out in colorful Cybertronian. She then spots A-train transforming from the corner of her optic, and promptly getting drive-by'ed by Springer. And particle beamed. "Aha! Always wanted to try these out. 'Scuse me!" With something of a curtsey, she darts over to stand on one of Astrotrain's turrets, and Coldwar offers up some handy scans. <<Thanks Soulja boy!>> Swiveling the cannons around, she opens fire on Warpath with an unhealthy amount of glee.

Combat: Harrow strikes Warpath with Armored Locomotive's Battle Cannons attack!

<<It's what I do, Doc>> Coldwar replies to Harrow as he continues to circle around the engagement area in a continued strafe. So, lets see... They were clearly outnumbered and outgunned on this one, and the way the battle was going it was almost a sure thing that the Decepticons would be retreating this time around. Still, there was no way he was going to bug out until the order was given- especially with that Topspin fellow going after the Wing Leader with such fervor. <<Alright, Wing Leader you're up. Make it count- Over.>>

Combat: Coldwar analyzes Topspin for weaknesses Astrotrain can exploit.

Armored Locomotive has a large tradeoff when he's in this form. He loses much of his valued agility, but he does gain a rather large amount of extra armor for that matter. Even then, he's still got scorchmarks all across his form as he's first shot up by Springer, then Topspin blasting him -again- in the side, using that heavy particle beam weapon of his. Still, he soaks it up rather well, growling as bits of smoke start to emit from rents in his armor. "Frag this. I didn't come here to play Autobot dogpile! We're gettin outta here. Though before I go..." The scanning of Topspin from Coldwar has not gone unnoticed, and the big purple triplechanger has had JUST ABOUT ENOUGH of that little blue pipsqueak Jumpstarter taking potshots at him.

"Hang on to somethin." He snarls to Harrow, sitting in one of his gun turrets, before he abruptly EXPLODES forward in a roar of acceleration, spinning about by turning his wheels on one side and locking up the others before he goes hurtling at the Jumpstarter like a great big purple Decepticon missile weighing in around a hundred tons or so. Topspin isn't an easy target, even the faint possibility of smearing the smug little Autobot across his ram plate is too much for Astrotrain to pass up.

Combat: Armored Locomotive strikes Topspin with his Jumpstarter Roadkill attack!

Blue Hovercraft <Topspin> transforms into his Topspin mode.

<Decepticon> Astrotrain *CRUNCH*, "Ooooh yeah that felt good. Awright enough of this slag. We're gettin the frag outta here before Springer decides he ain't got enough pansies to help him. One of these days I'm gonna pound that Kermit the Frog autobot into dust -without- him gettin rescued by his little pals!"

<Decepticon> Coldwar says, "Copy that, Wing Leader. Refer to HUD for escape route along nav-points Beta, Epsilon, Rho- Over."

The Red Tank shivers as the turrets from Astrotrain nail him good. Fortunately his armor is thick and can absorb a lot of the damage. It doesn't help that the delivery mechanism is a cackling decepti-femme. He's still freezing cold from when he got iced the first time, never mind the icecube treatment from Harrow. "Now I heard you were cold, but BLAM, that takes the cake!" He loads a thermal shell into his tankbarrel and aims for the evil Triplechanger and the Decepticon Medic. "You all need to ZOW, warm up to this!"

Combat: Warpath strikes Harrow with his Thermal Shells Area attack!

Combat: Warpath misses Armored Locomotive with his Thermal Shells Area attack!

<Decepticon> Hinder says, "Beta? Epsilon? Rho? Is that one of those human educational community gathering group names?"

With a whirl of moving parts, some of them battered and broken, the Cybertronian Race Car explodes upward into Springer. "Hey pal! No one rams a Wrecker without my permission! Now get your Decepti-cans out of here before we actually start using full force around here!" Charging forward on the spring of his powerful legs, the triple-changer takes a perpedicular course alongside the locomotive. Withdrawing his lightsaber from subspace, Springer winds up and spears the weapon forward into one of the fresh cracks in Astrotrain's armor. If the Wrecker was lucky enough, he might slash a few important wires or servos in the process. "Maybe next time we fight, you'll deactivate your whining protocols! Remember, I'm here when ya want me mech!"

With a flurry of sounds, Springer transform into his mean green robot form!

Combat: Springer strikes Armored Locomotive with his Lightsaber attack! [Pulled -1]

<Decepticon> Hinder says, "Hm. *click*"

Topspin holds up his hand as he sees Astrotrain speeding towards him, "Hey, hey.. what do you think you're doing ? This is a no crossing section!" as if the Decepticon woul listen to reason and so he gets up and turns as if he's about to run off in the opposite direction, "No.. slag that. We don't run.. we wreck and rule!" he turns to defiantly face the oncoming locomotive and the small Jumpstarter braces himself as he tries to absorb as much of the impasct on his shoulder armor as possible. The force still sends him air bourne he aims his rifle at the train while in mid air, "Eat this!!" he fires off several wild blasts of his weapon before he estimates the hard landing it about to come and then there is the impact with the unforgiving ground. The Wrecker goes skidding along the ground several hundred feet away.

Combat: Topspin strikes Armored Locomotive with his particle bean rifle blaze of glory! (Laser) attack!

"AAGHK!" Harrow clings to the cannons as Astrotrain lurches forward with some intense acceleration. Before she can right herself, Warpath slaps her with some heated artillery that melts a good portion of her armor. "All right, I've had enough of this slag! Coldwar, you're saved, right? Good, don't get in trouble again!" Harrow squints up at him and leaps into a transformation, tearing back up into the darkening sky. "SCREW YOU, AUTOBOTS," are the best parting words she can come up with.

Harrow twists and folds into a dark blue F-16 Falcon mode with shark-face nose art!

Sparks fly as the beam sword cuts into one part of Astrotrain's armored bulk, bringing with it a thick panel that slides free and thuds to the ground. Topspin's shots as he goes flying also impact along his upper armored torso, though it's all but negligible when compared to the horrendous beating he's actually soaked up in this short span of time.

And he's still going. Believe it or not, Astrotrain isn't all bluff and bluster when he boasts about how tough he is. Though even then he often over-boasts or outsmarts himself in the process. "Gyuh...heh heh, you just keep tellin yerself it's all about messin with one and messin with all of em Springer. We know it's cause ya can't stand on yer own two feet like a real mech." With that, he suddenly accelerates forward again, rocket booster igniting as they propel his large frame in a blazing straight path, more than likely wrenching Springer's sword free of his side in the process. Unless the Autobot planned to go along for the ride.... which wouldn't be a good idea.

"Coldwar, you fraggin owe me a good one for this!" Oh yeah, he's planning to collect on that at somepoint. Abruptly, when he's up to speed, Astrotrain transforms again, kicking up a brief hurricane-force wind in his wake as he points straight up and goes ballistic, rocketing into the sky like a hypervelocity missile.

Parts spin, components shift and Astrotrain's body grows in size until he is an enormous space shuttle.

Combat: Decepticon Shuttle <Astrotrain> begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit.

"Don't think I can make that promise, Ma'am," Coldwar replies to Harrow as she leaps into the air and transforms. Well, all things considered they could still chalk this mission up as a success. It was a CAP turned SAR, and both objectives had been achieved, right? <<Well fought, Autobots. Perhaps next time you might blow up more Decepticons than civilians>> Coldwar offers his own brand of extremely dry humor of the sort that one can barely tell is him actually being jovial. Altering his course he forms on Harrow's wing and begins to speed away. <<Copy that, Wing Leader.>>

Combat: Eagle Eye UAV <Coldwar> begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from F-16 Falcon <Harrow>, Modified MiG-23 Flogger <Contagion>, and Decepticon Shuttle <Astrotrain>