Thunderwing's Stalkers

Undersecretary Trazz of the Nebulan Ministry of Health is driving in his hovercar through the Folassian Forest, occasionally glancing nervously in his rear-view camera display. For a week, now, he's had an unsettling feeling of danger, that something wasn't right, of something that just... *aggravated* a certain sixth sense of his. He managed to survive the original Decepticon occupation, so he believes he has pretty good survival instincts about these things. Even so, as he drives out into the country, sent there by Kord to meet with someone who can help him (he wasn't told who), Trazz can only hope he isn't being followed to this secret rendezvous even now.

Armored Cyber Wolf  stays low to ground in his wolf mode and keeps track of the vehicule. Got to start somewhere and learn the habits of his prey. The task set before him is not an easy one so everything will need to go like clockwork in order to pull this off. Might even need a hand from other on-site agents...

Sadly for Trazz, that won't be the case. He's been 'bugged'.

In a manner of speaking.

A small metal grasshopper is clinging to the back of his vehicle, pressed in and looking for all the world like your average everyday splatter on the grill. He needs to be able to find out what's going on among the local bigwigs.

Kickback shrinks into a tiny grasshopper through the magic of television.

Blast Off has arrived.

Trazz clenches his teeth. He still can't shake that feeling of imminent danger, even though there's not a thing to be seen for miles! However, a glance at his hovercar's built-in GPS shows that his destination is approaching soon. Just a right turn here... he blinks. But there's just a dirt path there! Odd. Well, Kord did say to follow the GPS no matter where it led, and so he does, driving for a while, and eventually the road simply ends, and the GPS tells him to stop there. And so he does. Stepping out, Trazz looks around, seeing nothing but a forest... and looking increasingly nervous.

"Kark," he says, using a Nebulan curse word which is pretty vulgar by their standards. "Did they set me up? Is that what this is?" He runs his hands through his hair. "Dammit... what am I involved in?"

With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle.

Combat: Tiny Grasshopper  is no longer apparent in view!

Space Shuttle  circles high overhead- too high to be easily spotted by anyone on the ground. The Combaticon shuttle is not currently aware of the other Decepticons far below, and he's not looking for other Decepticons. Well, not ones he'd be likely to find himself working with, at least. He's looking for any sign of the DJD, or the tainted energon he's heard about. He has a score to settle with Tarn and Company and knowledge is power.

One of his scanner sweeps detect Sixshot's signal somewhere just below him. Zooming in his cameras, he sees that the mech wolf appears to be watching some activity nearby. The Commanding Officer of Aerospace decides to inquire a bit, just in case Sixshot has discovered something. If not, he'll be back on his solitary way. <>

The tiny insect drops off the hovercar, scooting under it. He approaches as closely as he can to Trazz, antennae waking, listening to everything he can hear from the safety of the vehicle's undercarriage.

The cyber-Wolf's ears twitch in annoyance upon receiving the message and ponder the various responses but sticks to the short one. <> Sixshot avoids moving as to not give away his position...predators hunt through motion most of the time.

Moral support? Guidance? There's a lot of reasons why Blast Off would not go unaccompanied, but so few of them would actually be a reason for Buzzsaw to be the accompaniment. But, there he is. Waiting for the moment when he can safely take flight without being outrun by the shuttleformer. "Blast Off, as I'd mentioned before, I am more than willing to offer my optics as a means to assist your scouting operations, but I need you to slow down first. My optics can indeed scan that fast, but I prefer to use my own wings." He looks out below for the aforementioned Sixshot. "Hmm.... when was he dispatched here?"

Just as Trazz throws up his hands and says aloud, "That's it, I'm out of h--" Then, the ground beneath his feet shakes... then falls away! "What the--" he gasps out, losing his footing and falling onto his rear. The entire patch of ground he had been standing on is dropping straight down, and when Trazz stands up and looks around, the reason why is clear--he's on a huge elevator, leading down! The elevator is big enough to accommodate several Decepticons, and is more than large enough to carry his car down with it.

Once at the bottom, Trazz sees an opening, but it is dark, and he thinks he... might make a large form in the darkness. "Are you Trazz?" growls a loud voice.

Oh, Gods, Trazz thinks. "Y-yes? Are you... are you the one who's going to help me?"

The figure steps forward into the elevator shaft enough to be partly illuminated by the light above. "That depends," Thunderwing sneers, "on your definition of HELP!"

Space Shuttle  receives Sixshot's response and radios back, <> He's about to speed along on his way again when Buzzsaw asks him to slow down. < > He slows down and his cargo bay door opens to allow the condor access to the outside. That's about the point his scanners pick up the sudden presence of Thunderwing below. The shuttle wobbles slightly in surprise, then realigns himself. <> Blast off either sounds slightly excited now... or maybe that's just scared. It's hard to tell.

Armored Cyber Wolf  spots the elevator and marks the coordinates for future reference. Unfortunately the sixchanger is too big to just leap down inconspicuously. He will apply the path of Kauyon and wait it out for now. Too early to go in guns blazing. << Are you positive Blast Off? Is he alone? >>

Fathom has arrived.

Buzzsaw drops out of the bay and, upon hearing of potential DJD in the area, kicks on his active supression systems to shimmer from immediate radar view... << Why would DJD be here? Sixshot, I am accompanying Blast Off and have your back. I shall do what I can to ensure you have proper support from above to the utmost of my capabilities. >> He banks sharply to get a better look at the situation happening below, feeding what his optics are seeing to the other Decepticons in the area.

The tiny bug keeps silence. Closest to Trazz, he keeps Thunderwing in full view, trying to capture good visuals of him. Like Sixshot he makes note of the elevator shaft, but now comes the time to make a decision:

Shockwave's orders were explicit, and as such the other Decepticons in the area will not receive any pity or help if something were to go wrong. Shockwave's rank supercedes them all, and he has his mission, his orders. If they die? Well, they die for the cause. Nothing more glorious than that. Or so he's been told, anyways.

Then there is that elevator shaft. He's so small as to blend in with the other insects in the woods. He might just be able to slip past all of them and get into the elevator shaft itself.

He waits just a little longer to decide.

Trazz panics once he realizes that he's face-to-face with the same Decepticon who led their world's occupation not so long ago, and desperately throws open the door to his hovercar and climbs in, whimpering. Disgusted, Thunderwing stoops over to rip off the roof of the hovercar, tosses it aside and reaches in to grab Trazz. "Come, now, Trazz, you have a new purpose in life! A pity your usefulness at the Ministry is at an end, but we can't have someone like you, in your position, flaking out on us at such a critical juncture!"

"N-n-no!" Trazz says as he is carried away deeper into the underground facility, leaving the elevator shaft abandoned--perhaps briefly. "This has to be a mistake! Kord said he was going to help me!"

"Well, why don't we call Kord and ask him?" Thunderwing says as his footsteps sound out.

Space Shuttle  replies to Sixshot and Buzzsaw while his scanners sweep the area quickly for any sign of anyone else... especially the DJD. <> He sounds confident now, but if the DJD show up he may soon sound less so.

<<But this mech-Thunderwing- showed up at the end... he's working with the DJD. Why? I have no idea. But I learned of something at the Steel Balloon recently. The Autofools have done a little scouting work of their own, and they believe that the DJD's presence here has something to do with "tainted energon". Which is one of the things I've been looking for more signs of. If Thunderwing is here, perhaps this facility contains clues? And no, Sixshot, I only detect two life signs- well, one important one- the *mechanical one*- down there. Thunderwing. He is speaking to some insignifant Nebulan. No, wait... dragging him off, perhaps? There appears to be something underground there. I can't make out any readings what might be under there, however.>>

Armored Cyber Wolf  checks the path from his location to the elevator shaft and ponders how close he can get while staying hidden. Once that is done he starts being a bit paranoid and looks at what could be sensors or hidden entrances along his path as to not get caught unaware. He does not move yet but maintains his observator status. << If the DJD really ran off, I would not be here...The DJD and Thunderwing are obviously linked but we are missing a link in the intel. >> awnsering both BO and Buzzsaw. Even across the radio the depth of his Clancy Brown-like voice can be felt.

Buzzsaw narrows his optics momentarily as he watches the vehicle below... << Hmm... >> He folds his wings to drop altitude a little ways and resumes his scanning. Those on the ground might notice a slight skip in his optical feed as it is relayed, but minimal. A hiccup, most likely. Perhaps interference that just caused the feed to cut and resume abruptly.

Dropping lower, he takes full advantage of his ability to slip under radar to get closer than Sixshot seems willing to do. << I am curious to find the link as well. I do believe we should do whatever we can to find the ties, and perhaps a means of leverage against the DJD and Thunderwing. >>

The moment Thunderwing reaches to Trazz, the tiny bug hops forward, out from under the vehicle. He isn't certain he can keep up with Thunderwing like this, but he cannot afford to be seen. There's only one option.

He takes it.

Tiny Kickback leaps onto Thunderwing, as gently as possible, trying to cling to his back.

Thunderwing steps further down a short tunnel into a somewhat large but dingy space, apparently oblivious to his hitchhiker. There is one interesting thing of note, here--a small table, elevated high for the sake of a Cybertronian, and next to that, a tray full of various surgical tools. Thunderwing places the struggling Trazz on the table and straps him down to it. "Now, let's talk to Kord, then." Approaching a computer terminal, Thunderwing keys in a few commands and Kord's face fills the screen. "Kord, care to explain to your bumbling associate his situation?"

Kord smiles. "But of course, Thunderwing! My dear Trazz, I'm sorry, but you are no longer needed. Your paranoia has hampered your performance for too long and, well, it's time I put you to other uses."

"B-but this is Thunderwing!" Trazz yells. "How could you work for Thunderwing?"

"*For* him?" Kord says with a sly grin. "No, no, you don't understand. HE works for ME!" That leaves Trazz speechless. "By the way, Trazz, not to worry, you'll have plenty of company!"

It's then that Trazz finally notices that one of the walls in this space is lined with what appears to be Powermasters, all of them appearing to be making little muffled cries!

Up above, Sixshot will notice plenty of local fauna that is, in fact, not quite fauna at all, but disguised cameras staring at the entrance to the elevator shaft! Speaking of which, that elevator shudders as it prepares to move back up to the surface!

Space Shuttle  's scanners detect Thunderwing heading underground. He replies to Sixshot, < > However, it's looking like the action is beginning to be found underground, and the Combaticon shuttle doesn't like the underground as it is. He likes it even less when there's a distinct possibility that the DJD may be under there. < > As in- you're mad if you think I'm going down there in DJD-land with you crazy people.

Armored Cyber Wolf <Sixshot> goes into low-power mode to continue his observation. << Be very careful of approaching the elevator. There are security cameras in the local fauna. I am much too large to sneak in. I will wait unti the right moment to make my move. Until then we continue gathering intel. >> (With that the player needs to go off to bed for the night. Nice scene and looking forward to find more out with the team. :) )

Kickback listens to every. Single. Word. He records what he can for debriefing later, but there is the problem that Thunderwing might get wise to the fact that he's hauling around a tiny passenger. He may already be wise, and choosing to deal with the Insecticon later.

He takes a gamble. Better to stay safe where you are, and listen in, than to risk jumping out of the frying pan and into a fire.

Fathom goes home.

Fathom has left.

Buzzsaw bahs... little cameras do not worry him. His own optics can pick them out relatively well enough that he knows how best to approach. After all...there's a bug that might need some backup. Whether that's backup in the form of a helping wing...or data transfer (most likely the latter) is always up for grabs, though.

"You may begin the conversion process, Thunderwing," Kord says. "And by the way, we've fallen behind on Dark Energon production. You need to create more of the Dark Powermasters!"

"Then tell the DJD not to destroy shipments of Dark Energon at the first sign of trouble!" Thunderwing snarls.

Kord frowns. "Let ME worry about the DJD. YOU worry about your role in this job." And on that note, he ends the call.

"Hrmph," Thunderwing sneers. "Foolish Nebulan. He'll see who's really in charge before long!" Turning to Trazz, Thunderwing reaches for a hypdodermic needle with a thin sliver of a needle and a comparatively large grip for a Cybertronian. "Now, back to you Trazz. I want you to know that this anaesthetic is not an act of mercy, it's just to stop you from squirming while I work. Let's get to it..." And so Thunderwing begins to convert poor Trazz to a Powermaster, just like that. It's a lengthy process and quite involved, and he most certainly won't be finished before that elevator rises back up to the surface, which it is doing right now. Maybe Kickback wants to get on board?...

And Kickback does just that. He's small, crunchy and a mainstay of Mexican cooking, and if he is trapped with Thunderwing he may not be able to talk his way out of trouble. Leaping backwards off this... /Pretender/ to the throne, he nimbly hops his way to the elevator, scrambling up on it with tiny legs, to make good on his escape.

Space Shuttle <Blast Off> just continues circling around, high in the sky... aloof and distant and SAFE from the DJD just like he likes it. He radios to the others, <<Do you see anything? I am not picking up much from up here.>>

Buzzsaw drops down suddenly to meet the elevator, making a grab for... ? Well, honestly, no one should know outside of Kickback and Buzzsaw, but the bug might find himself getting plucked up by a condor in flight. With a reason, of course, and he radios straight to the insecticon on a closed channel. << Stay silent, small, and unobserved. The less they know, the better. >> He makes a show of getting to the elevator 'too late' to proceed, and after a soft huff of agitation doubles back to return skyward and rendezvous with Blast Off. << Pity! The door closed far too quickly, and there was little I could do to see beyond the steel wall. >>

One might expect that the surgical tools a Decepticon would use on an organic would be rusty and dirty. Not so for Thunderwing--being partially organic himself, he understands the risk of infection, so his tools workspace are meticulously clean. And he was just open to start cutting into Trazz when his head suddenly jerks up. A frown plays across his face, and he glances to his left. Was that a bug? Insects do occasionally find their way down here--they annoy him greatly as he must constantly eradicate them--but he's knowledgeable in most of the life forms on this world. Is it a Nebulan species, he wonders or an Earth species? Because if it's the latter...

Despite his eagerness to begin working, he nevertheless feels the need to walk over to the tunnel and have a better look at that insect before it gets away. However, when he looks down the tunnel, shining a forearm light down it, he sees nothing. Frowning, and not entirely satisfied, he decides to return to his unfortunate patient.

The locust jumps for his tiny little life into the waiting claws of a bird.

That has got to be the first time in history that's happened.

He continues to maintain radio silence, acting for all the world as if he is nothing more than a dumb beast.

Space Shuttle <Blast Off> receives Buzzsaw's message and doesn't really think that's a pity at all. He thinks it might have been suicide to go down there. Well, for a non-Combaticon, at least, since Combaticons can handle pretty much /anything/, right? Well... except maybe DJD- when they are but one Combaticon. Even Blast off has to admit such a thing- to himself at least. If his whole team was here the shuttle might be more inclined to proceed. ...Might be. <<Very well, fly up to meet me and we shall be on our way. We have the location now. Decepticon forces will need to move quickly- but only after we have a plan.>>

Buzzsaw checks his 'cargo' and turns to RTV back to the shuttle, getting inside before dropping both the Insecticon and his stealth systems. << Blast Off, get us out of range of any cameras or sensors in this area immediately, if you would be so kind. >> He settles himself on the Shuttleformer's deck before looking towards Kickback, his optics zooming in on the bug to shoot him a 'first one's free' sort of glance.