Escape From Monacus

Monacus Spaceport

The spaceport's ceiling is held up by rafters, but the rest is clear, allowing a view of the beautiful sky of Monacus. Doors lead to various Launching Pads, and security is provided to ensure safety at the Spaceport. Right outside the spaceport are many, many merchants, all looking for customers to purchase various goods they have to sell, all of which are 'very important,' according to them.

Jazz is hanging near the ceiling tangled in his own grappling hook. The guy obviously fell through the spaceport's domed roof. The Autobot's HUD flickers a bit.

System status: Loss of pressure in hydraulic 1-3-6. Power transfer to servos 1-2-4 down by 60%

The Autobot's body twitches a bit more "Ooowww...I hate fighting in space...Really do." Jazz looks around at his predicament and how he will get down from there without causing himself any more damage.

Tetrajet  is flying well overhead. He's not aware that there are Autobots on the planet, but that's no reason *not* to fly patrols. After all, they captured a lot of other people when they took the planet, they've yet to round everyone up, and there may still be operational spaceships about. In fact, that's part of what they're here to deal with. "Keep an eye out for any in-tact space-faring vessels," Fleet says to any flying with him. "We need to get to work making them out-tact instead."

Tetrajet  rumbles a response at Fleet's comment and continues scanning below for anything out of the ordinary as he flies to the left of Fleet. He sees nothing yet that looks intact but a few 'out-tact' ones indeed.

XF-35B Astral Lightning  is actually doing her real job here, more or less! Hushing prisoners up is an Inquistor's work, though taking a whole planet prisoner is somewhat unusual. She points out, "If we do find intact ones, you flyboys could just... forcibly requistion them." Why else would there be two shuttle pilots assigned to this patrol, if not for that very reason?

Vigil flies above where he detected two decepticons, using the higher atmosphere to hide him. He had awoken earlier and managed to avoid patrols by taking to the sky and was trying to find someone. You receive a radio message from Jazz: I fell through the spaceport roof and I am tangled in ym own cable at the moment.

Laserbeak surveys the spaceport's activities on top of an air traffic control tower, where the field of view is vast and free from distractions. The mechanical condor eyes the passing by Monacus civilians as some are being rounded up and taken to where all of the other civilians are presumably being gathered as well. Either way, Laserbeak avoids interacting with Decepticons and the civilians alike, for fear of being tasked with something more dangerous than just simple surveillance. For the time being, Laserbeak remains observant of his surrounding, maintaining a watchful eye for any further attempts by the Monacus' population to escape via shuttle.

Robotic Bald Eagle  is flying about at a much slower speed than the jets as he circles around a Monacusian city. "I see no Autobots here on Las Vegas!" he caws. "The city is strangely subdued, too! It's like nobody feels like drinking and spending all their money on gambling or something!"

Ultra Magnus isn't here. Well, he's here but not here. Confused? The City Commander is stalking in from the west, the Central Plaza of Monacus. The epicenter of sports entertainment today, or that's how Eject put it to him last week. And so Magnus took leave and headed for the planet for his vacation. A break from paperwork, from duties, from disasters in need of his delicate attention, from everything. And yet it seems fate has chosen a different path for this Autobot.

"Eject, stay close and keep your optics peeled. I've just established radio contact with Jazz!" Ultra Magnus exclaims, a cautioning hand held out towards the cassettebot. He's been trying to establish radio contact with ANYONE for almost twenty breems now ... he's not getting anything from the proper channels such as the Autobot broadband. He stalks closer towards the spaceport, exetremely weary and attentive to detail.

Jazz gently releases the break on his grappling hook to try and loosen himself. Maybe he can create enough slack to lower himself down. No dice yet. The Autobot tries getting his legs out of the rope loop and falls 15' before getting stuck again. The winch seems to work better now without the legs jamming the rope's path. Jazz finally manages to slowly lower himself to the spaceport floor.

"Hmmm. Funny, that," Fleet observes dryly to Americon. "And good point, Inquisitor. I... think I see one that looks like it might work down there." With that, he starts to break out of formation and begins a slow, spiraling descent. This will take him over the Autobots, and he's getting lower and lower.

It was the unlikeliest of pairs. Perhaps because one was so huge and the other was so short...by robot standards anyway. Eject had been excited about his trip to Monacus, especially since his favorite team, the Galactic Rockets were playing!

That was the plan before the current situation had changed this from a vacation to anything but that. Decked out in a small jersey and baseball cap, Eject looks a bit different than usual. "Awww Magnus!! But they are /the/ Rockets!! I only like the Green Bay Packers more!! Next time we come here, you're gonna owe me a box of energon cracker jacks!!"

Not so enthralled with the Autobots' current predicament, Eject grumbles as he scurries along behind the larger robot, tossing his foam finger to the floor. "The Rockets could have clinched their division with a win!" So focused he Eject on his team, that he fails to notice any Decepticon radio activity for the time being.

Tetrajet  says, "Yes, Catechism." and he banks over and down as he decends to take a closer look at the row of shuttle, Fleet is heading down upon. Where theres one there may be undamaged, there could be another. If he finds one flyable he will get it out."

Vigil remains high above the two seekers, remaining in the lower atmosphere. While it is difficult to fly, it does provide him cover due to scanners having to be literally pointed up at him to find him. He remains high up, flying as silently as he can.

XF-35B Astral Lightning  is okay with Fleet wandering off to steal shuttles. She is also okay with Windshear doing the same. it was her suggestion, after all. There's still her and... Americon up here, and Laserbeak over there to continue the patrol. She asks, "Americon, have you ever shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die? This is like that. Only with planets."

Robotic Bald Eagle  circles over an alien burlesque parlor. Despite the description, most humans would probably find it utterly repulsive, but fortunately the viewer--er, the Decepticons are spared from seeing the sort of things that go on in there. "Hm. No, I have not! I will have to try that some time! But I do not understand! You are saying we shot the planet? And yet, it is not dead!"

Jazz manages to get down from the roof and retracts his grappling hook. A quick look inside the spaceport for a defendable position or a place to hide in case he needs it. The Autobot leaps behind the counter and lays flat while he fiddles around with...something.

XF-35B Astral Lightning  continues to natter along with Americon, "Okay, so we just /moved/ the planet. But we could have moved it into a star, which is like shooting it. But I am off-topic! I am saying that we have made examples of Cambria and Monacus to the rest of the galaxy, so now we are /feared/, as we rightfully should be." Americon sure is distracting! But it's not like anything is exploding.

Monacus spaceport remains uneventful, save for the occasional attempts at resistance by the few spaceport staffs who are promptly detained. The sun is well in the process of settling down in the horizon, casting shadows across the building structures that comprises the spaceport itself. Laserbeak continues to stay perched upon the air traffic control, his head slowly turning from one side to another like a security camera in a high security facility. The cassetticon remains oblivious to any unnatural presence in the area, and only occasionally sparing himself a glance at the other patrolling Decepticon as he monitors their patrol pattern.

Combat: Jazz has created a grenade: "Auxiliary Energon Reservoir"!

Ultra Magnus brings a finger to his mouth, turning around to look at Eject. "Hey, keep it down. Why don't you see if you can't intercept any idle Decepticon chatter in this area." The large Autobot unnacustomed to sneaking ducks underneath some scaffolding, peering upwards and at a Tetrajet Seeker. "Contact, evassive manuevers." he whispers towards the cassettbot, hoping that he's listening. He also idly hopes that Eject manages to find cover before he's spotted as well, before mumbling something into the radio.

Tetrajet  makes one final swoop over the area, just managing to miss that movement in the shadows through the windows. He pulls up, transforms, and lands next the shuttles he had spotted. He hmmms and kneels to inspect one of them. "This would be a bit cramped for our kind... do we have many tapes who know how to pilot?"

Tetrajet  transforms into his Fleet mode.

Vigil aims himself and cuts the power to his engines, beginning to fall towards the spaceport. He is hoping that with no engine noise and no power to the engines, he wont be picked up by a scanner of some sort. He then begins to fall right for the jazz hole and before crashing it, engines flare softly so he barely falls through it and tries to blend in with the mess in the spaceport.

Tetrajet  swings down and hover near Fleet, "Not that Im aware of, Fleet." he rasps and then cuts his engines off and transforms to land by another shuttle that looks undamaged. "Too tight for any of us to pilot if you ask me." he says quietly.

Cybertronian Tetra jet transforms into the pretty boy Decepticon, Windshear.

Jazz slowly rises from behind the booking counter and waves slowly in case Vigil feels nervous. "Here buddy." The Lt. Cmdr winces a bit as he slides over the counter and into the open. "The Decepticons used their weapon on the planet. Not exactly sure what happened next."

Still grumbling about missing the big game, Eject follows Ultra Magnus' orders. Popping behind a randomly placed slot machine, Eject takes his jersey and baseball cap, sending them into subspace for safe keeping. "Alright Ultra! I'm on it!! Let me see if I can catch some of the purple team's signals on the sideline!"

Initialize his communications systems, the casette starts scanning local frequencies for all sorts of radio chatter. Suddenly, he brightens up as he picks up the Rockets' game broadcast. "Holy voice in the box! Sweet!!! It's in the 3rd inning right now." Listening contently for a second, Eject pumps his tiny fist in the air as Rockets' pitcher, Roger Stemons strikes out a batter.

Oh yea. The radio surveillance right. Continuing his sweep of local communication, Eject shakes his head, "Nothing yet Magnus! I'm working on it!"

Barely a moment passes after Fleet says that before Americon swoops down and lands on his shoulder. "I have flown a shuttle before!" He smiles as he thinks of his adventures on the planet Furr'hi, then, as he remembers what else happened on that planet, grimaces. "Actually, that was one of the worst experiences of my life, but uh, not because of my piloting! Well. Uh. Not directly, anyway!"

Fleet gives Americon a wary look as the cassette triple-changer lands on his shoulder. "You... can pilot a shuttle?" He looks at the shuttle then back at Americon. "Well. At least I would have a hard time fitting inside there."

If Americon is piloting, that's a plus!

He pauses and looks up as something in the air catches his eye. "Looks like... like something's falling?"

XF-35B Astral Lightning  was flying along near Americon, so when Americon flits over to be the parrot to Fleet's Captain Morgan, she follows along after him and hovers placidly behind Fleet. So when Fleet suggestions that something may be falling, she swivels and zooms in on the object, lenses whirring - oh slag, is that Sticky Note Autobot? She sighs, "Confirmed. His weaknesses is being shot out of a cannon."

Combat: Catechism analyzes Vigil for weaknesses Fleet can exploit.

Laserbeak catches a glance of an object traveling down from the sky above, although the Cassetticon has failed to recognize it as a threat, due his distance away from Vigil as well as his optical sensors being in heat seeking mode in order to surveil the populace in the spaceport.

Windshear looks at Americon dubiously and then shrugs, "Fine." he rasps then sees Catechism hover down. "Falling down?" he questions Fleet as he turns to look up about the time Catechism turns to look up as well. "Well well... time to play." is all he says as he leaps back into the air to transform.

Pretty boy Windshear transforms into a Cybertronian pyramid/Tetrajet.

Vigil transforms as soon as he was inside the spaceport and moves towards the Lt. Cmdr. "I noticed several people running about the planet, and my starmaps didnt match with what constellations normally found in the Monacus system. I think what they did was move the planet. As for where and why, I am afraid I dont know." He says softly, trying to talk to Jazz in a hushed tone. "Got Ultra Magnus on the radio, he said to help you out as stealthily as I can." He says as he holds a laser pistol.

The starfighter shifts and folds into itself, forming into Vigil!

Robotic Bald Eagle  smiles at Fleet. "Sure I can! Just not for very long!" Then his eyes bug out at Catechism's report! "HOLY CRAP! Autobots? How did we miss them! One second, guys, while I commandeer this shuttle!" The little robot eagle clambers up onto the side door of the shuttle, which, it turns out, is occupied! The alien pilot draws a pistol, attempting to fire upon Americon, but the eagle manages to dodge out of the way with left and right movements of the control stick. Then, he punches the pilot several times with his wings by hitting x, then, while the pilot's stunned, tosses him by pressing and holding a. He clambers into the pilot's seat with no difficulty, then.

"I swear, I have to do that the same way every time I hijack a space ship!" Americon says as he transforms into tape mode and inserts himself into the ship's control console. Its engines roar and the whole thing begins to lift, though it's a bit wobbly.

Jazz blinks behind his visor and looks up at the bigger hole and back down at Vigil with a smirk "Yeah we will work on the whole subtle angle. We need a better place to hide. Spaceports will be the first place they will come to confiscate shuttles and fuel. I need to find Gygony to have a chat with him." Jazz heads for the commercial sector of the spaceport where they pile all the crates. They must have a garage door that leads outside.

"But I don't have a cannon!" Fleet protests, then he shrugs. He leaps into the air, transforming to try to intercept the spacecraft. It's in his vehicle mode that he has better long-ranged sensors, and as he closes his distance, he sees just who Vigil went to speak with. "There's more of them!" he calls out. "Over here!"

Fleet transforms into his Tetrajet  mode.

Combat: Fleet analyzes Jazz for weaknesses Windshear can exploit.

Ultra Magnus curses himself, looking over towards the Decepticons. Instead of being raptured by their newfound delights ... their attention has been turned towards Vigil, which will eventually lead them to Jazz. Both of which aren't in the tip top shape to repel a direct attack from this group. "Hightail it towards the spaceport and the others, I'll catch up shortly." Magnus bitterly states to Eject, pointing a stern finger out towards their location. Without another word, the City Commander stalks up from the scaffolding and sets his Laser Blaster Rifle ontop of it for improved accuracy.

Looking down the sight of the weapons system, Ultra Magnus adjusts his aim from Decepticon to Decepticon. First he considers wounding the highest ranking officer ... that /might/ delay them, while they scurry about fighting over the new leadership. Shaking the thought from mind, Magnus eyes a couple of tankers filled with fuel twenty or so feet from the group. While it will do close to nothing to harm them, the enveloping cloud of fumes and smoke will cause the distraction he requires. "On my mark ..." he whispers to Eject. Pulling the trigger, he shouts "GO!". The barrels erupt, a black acrid smoke wafting into the air and most likely enveloping the airborne Decepticons while causing a ruckus amongst the ones still on the ground.

XF-35B Astral Lightning  zooms after Fleet, who seems to have followed the data-trail she just passed him. Ah, hunting down Autobots! Now, this is exciting! So much more thrilling than just oppressing random aliens. Oh, and Jazz, too? She warns, "Jazz is a slippery one. They say, you just can't chain the music down..."

Tetrajet  has just launched into the air when the fuel tanks explode. He is caught in the blast force and the smoke and looses control for a moment. Rocking back and forth the jet blasts through the smoke to find himself pretty lose to the ground. With a rumble he pulls up, "More then just the one." he rasps and spins around toward the direction the shot came from. He thinks he spots something blue, red, and white and heads toward it.

Dropping down into a four-point stance, Eject lines up like a Cybertronian track star as Ultra emits his booming instructions. Just as the city commander says 'go', the smaller Autobot takes off with a burst of speed, "Usain Bolt's got nothing on me!! I'm the king of zing!! Watch me fly down the track!!"

Churning his tiny legs back and forth, the Autobot makes a dead sprint for the rest of his teammates. Entering a cloud of smoke, the Autobot waves his hands into the air. "Hey! The pre-game pyrotechnics are over!! It's time for the game!!"

Picking up Decepticon chatter, Eject activates his short-range radio, hoping to pick up a signal from Jazz and Vigil. <<<Eject to Jazz!! I'm coming out of the bullpen and I'm looking for ya!! Head for the exit!!>>>

Laserbeak takes off into the night skies immediately in response to the sound of explosion in the spaceport, although this was most certainly done out of fright instead of dedication to duty that a typical Decepticon would have to orders. The mechanical condor scrambles for higher alitude, as the pair of engines on his back propels him closer towards the scene of disturbance.

Worries plagues Laserbeak's thoughts as he gets closer to the site of the explosion, that and getting mauled apart by vicious Autobots and the likes. However as the Cassetticon's courage boosts itself three folds as he notices the presence of the other Decepticon Seekers. Squawking at the Seekers in his vicinity, Laserbeak takes up a defensive flight pattern in the air around, keeping a sharp optic out for any other threats in the area that might show up.

The odds that Americon would successfully steer the craft were bad enough, but after Ultra Magnus blew the fuel tanks, even a seasoned pilot would have trouble staying aloft. "We're going down!" Americon screams as his shuttle spins wildly out of control. "Mayday, mayday, we are going down! Victor tango niner! Delta echo wiskey!" As Americon spews fake military codewords, the shuttle's spinning back section smashes lampposts and neon signs from their moorings and is generally kind of distracting in a "woah, that might injure me" sort of way.

Jazz makes a quick right into the freight corridor of the spaceport and heads for one of the transport dock. A simple pull on the lever loosens the door and the Autobot begins to open it ever so slightly in order to peak outside. Looks clear for now. Jazz takes notices of the dock's number and radios Vigil <<Roger that, I am running for the Galactic Express team and...I am currently on the '12' yard line. Get ready to cover the runners.>>

Americon also transforms to try and steer the shuttle manually, though it doesn't help much. Also, he doesn't have that attack in tape mode.

Americon undergoes a patriotic transformation into his All-American robot mode!

Combat: Americon sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Americon strikes Ultra Magnus with his Distract Attack Area attack!

Combat: Americon misses Tetrajet <Fleet> with his Distract Attack Area attack!

Combat: Americon misses XF-35B Astral Lightning <Catechism> with his Distract Attack Area attack!

Combat: Americon strikes Tetrajet <Windshear> with his Distract Attack Area attack!

Vigil nods as he follows with Jazz and when he radios the dock number, he begins to look around, an explosion knocking him a step back. He then notices Eject and nods. "Dont worry, I got you covered Eject, go with Jazz I will cover you both." He says as he raises his pistol, readying himself when he notices a ship coming in. He groans as he flies into the air and is hurled back with shockwave from a ship crashing but he corrects himself and readies himself again for decepticons.

XF-35B Astral Lightning <Catechism> is not distracted by Americon and his bad piloting skills, possibly because she works with Americon more often than is sane, and so she has become somewhat immune to his antics, the way that Batman is immune to many poisons. She says tiredly, "Americon, stop fooling around. There are Autobots here to kill. I think you can handle the Sticky Note one."

Combat: Catechism analyzes Vigil for weaknesses Americon can exploit.

"Woah!" Fleet exclaims, lifting out of the way of the wildly crashing shuttle. "... I am SO glad I couldn't fit on that thing," he adds. Then he sees Vigil ahead, making his grand, heroic stand to cover for his friends. "Making your grand, heroic stand to cover for your friends, Autobot?" Then he tries to fly right past, attempting to slice Vigil with his wing as he does so.

"Too bad!"

Combat: Tetrajet <Fleet> strikes Vigil with his Razor Wing Slash attack! [Pulled -2]

Tetrajet <Windshear> spots Ultra Magnus and punches it to chase him down when hes suddenly hit with the shockwave of the shuttle crashing. He made it through the fuel tanks exploding perfectly but this incident throws him off guard a bit and he looses his balance so to speak in a gig way. Out of control now, the Tetrajet is heading straight for the large Autobot City Commander, "Incoming..." Windshear manages to rumble as he heads striaght for the Autobot. ..

Combat: Tetrajet <Windshear> strikes Ultra Magnus with his Grab attack!

Trying to keep up with the quicker Jazz, Eject pumps his legs, "Hey Jazz!! They've got the bases covered, but we still gotta try to steal home plate!!"

Picking up on the sounds of crashing shuttles, weapons fire, and Laserbeak squawking somewhere in the distance, the casette withdraws his blaster from subspace. "Something tells me that this is gonna be a goal-line stand!! We better come up with the statue of liberty fast!!"

<<Eject to Magnus! We're in a hand-cap match coach!! Looking for a way outta this!>>

Ultra Magnus smiles as the delicate plumes of smoke drift up and temporarily enrapt the Decepticons. But as it turns out, Americon and fate had dealt him some bad ju-ju on the river. Crashing with abandon into a couple of neon signs, the laser light show that is the triple changing tape's crash landing is visually stunning ... and distracting. In the meantime, the Tetrajet Seeker heads straight for him ... either out of sheer desperation or some sort of dazed attack, the City Commander knows not.

Reacting rather slowly, Magnus attempts to lay back down under the scaffolding, but Windshear manages to pin his arm in the metal mess of his 'landing'. <<Autobots, pull back ... now! Jazz, see if you can't get a proper shuttle out of this place.>> he mutters into the shortwave, rising up and aiming a fist at the underside of the Seeker. If all goes well, Magnus will be able to free his hand and gain some much needed mobility.

Combat: Ultra Magnus sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes Tetrajet <Windshear> with his Unhand me! (Punch) attack!

Vigil gets sliced, feeling his chest getting cleaved into. He yells in pain as he transforms to his starship mode and fires a burst of gatling gun rounds after Fleet. <<Where do you think your going, decepticreep?>> He radios as he tries to aim the bullets for the tetrajet's engines.

Vigil leaps and begins folding into himself, wings extending to his sides as he is a starfighter!

Combat: Autobot Starfighter strikes Tetrajet <Fleet> with his Gatling gun (Pistol) attack!

Jazz pulls open the loading dock's door and transforms into his car mode revving up his 720hp engine... Yeah he might have taken damage in robot mode but the V12 is still intact. <<Hike Hike Hike!>> The porsche leaps off the loading dock and into the street and makes a break for the city where it's tight and dense.

Jazz leaps into the air and folds down on himself and into a stylish white Porsche 935.

Combat: White Porsche 935 <Jazz> begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Autobot Starfighter, Tetrajet <Fleet>, XF- 35B Astral Lightning <Catechism>, Laserbeak, and Tetrajet <Windshear>

Tetrajet <Fleet> keeps on flying past Vigil after he hits the Autobot. "Me? I'm going after your buddy, who's a more valuable target than you a-ouch!" The 'Ouch' happens as Fleet is blasted with Vigil's weapon, but it's not enough to keep him from shooting after Jazz, who... is getting into a side-street where he has cover! Fleet makes a few shots at the retreating car, but the angle makes them unlikely to hit.

Combat: Tetrajet <Fleet> misses White Porsche 935 <Jazz> with his Persistent Freeze Ray attack! [Pulled -3]

Americon crashes into the ground, as expected--and quickly bursts free of the main viewport. "Ok, so that time I couldn't get it off the ground. I was just unlucky, that's all! Oh, and Autobots! Die, Autobots, and all that!" Standing on the wreckage of his shuttle, Americon fires a multitude of annoying blasts at Ultra Magnus."

Combat: Americon strikes Ultra Magnus with his Red White and Blue Lasers attack! [Pulled -1]

Before Jazz can zoom off for the nearest exit, Eject leaps into the air, and lands inside the Porsche. "Alright, time to go Jeff Gordon on these Decepticons! Let's hit the track jack!"

Raising his tiny arms up, the casette slams them down on the dashboard with enthusiasm as the Porsche rumbles away, narrowly avoiding a few blasts of incoming fire. "We're gonna take the checkered flag!! You can't stop us!!"

Peering out through the car's window, Eject hopes the rest of his teammates are close behind.

Laserbeak sees all from high above the Monacus night skies, and even someone as small as Eject sprinting across a busy combat zone. The mechanical condor drops down quickly in altitude and attempts to give chase, but quickly loses sight of the Autobot cassette as his vision becomes obscured by the clouds of black smoke. By the time Laserbeak passes through the visual obstruction, it is already too late to give any further chase as Eject has already settled inside Jazz and going up against someone as crafty as Rodimus Prime's right hand man is the last thing ol' Beakers wants to tackle.

Laserbeak quickly escapes from the vicinity of Jazz and back towards the safety of the other gathered Decepticons. It is not long before Laserbeak notices a fellow Decepticon tape engaging big blue Magnus himself and the mechanical condor quickly pitches in to assist with a fresh set of information upload.

Combat: Laserbeak analyzes Ultra Magnus for weaknesses Americon can exploit.

Tetrajet <Windshear> crashes into Ultra Magnus and suddenly gets a fist into his underdcarriage and hard. If he breathed it would have knocked the breath out of him. A minor warning pops up on his HUD as he careens off the Autobot and into the ground. The Seeker is dazed momentarily then transforms and rolls over toward Magnus firing a laser cannon at him. Windshear (Windy) pages: Im so flipping lost at this point >_>

Vigil flies up after fleet. <<Your target is me, and if you keep your back to me, I will blast you out of the skies.>> Vigil radios as he flies over Fleet and a laser beam lances out for the Tetrajet, trying to pull him off of Jazz and Eject.

Central Plaza

Here is the very heart of Monacus, the glittering resort and casino world. Myriad stimuli attack the senses as one looks around - the blazing lights of advertisements, the clamor of street vendors, the blaring of horns in the crowded streets. Several vendors rush over to the tourists, seeing their confused looks, and promptly begin offering to show them to the best resort in town. Enjoy your stay, and try not to lose too much money while you're here! A shining new shuttle terminal can be seen at the far end of the plaza.

Vigil flies on ahead at top speed. <<I will see about finding a shuttle, then I will direct coordinates to the rest of you. I will hurry as fast as I can, unless anyone has a better idea?>> He radios to the autobots.

Ultra Magnus is struck by the many annoying blasts sent his way from Americon, and suddenly has an immense urge to vote for change. Either way, the City Commander shakes the thought from his mind and begins to back up awkwardly from the area ... which in turn changes into a dead run for Central Plaza he came from. <<Autobots, I thought I saw some sort of ship back there ... Jazz, see if you and Eject can't get it in shape. Vigil, provide minimum coverfire for them ... but keep your head down! I'll draw their fire, just get us a way off this planet!>> he rasps into the communication link, firing idle blasts over his shoulder neither aimed nor hitting anything. Pew Pew Pew.

Combat: Ultra Magnus sets his defense level to Protected.

You know, someone should have told Patchwork that shopping could be hazardous to ones health, not just one's credit cards! She might have rethought her shopping trip! As is, the medic has lost her packages somewhere along the line as she's made her way towards the spaceport. She'd known there were other Bots who'd come that day and hoped to run into them, and a ship, at the 'port...not into them as they ran -away- from thes paceport. <<Hey...hey, wait for me! Don't leave me behind!>> the medic radios, remembering just in time not to shout across the distance.

The roar of Jazz's high performance engine can be heard all over the block. "Hang on Eject, trust me. Jeff Gordon ain't got slag on me." Speedo reads 320mph... and climbing. The scenary flies by awfully fast. <<Roger that Magnus..>> "Man that is one sweeet ride." Speedo reads 407mph The pair is closing on the ship VERY fast.

Combat: White Porsche 935 <Jazz> begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Autobot Starfighter, Tetrajet <Fleet>, XF-35B Astral Lightning <Catechism>, Laserbeak, and Tetrajet <Windshear>

Keeping his blue visor focused on the windshield in front of him, Eject calls out the navigation from the comfort of Jazz's leather seats. "Make a left! Alright, good...now make a right! Watch out for that incoming fire!""

White Porsche 935 <Jazz> fires up 'Real Gone' on his stereo. "Yeah!"

Americon grumbles as Ultra Magnus flees from him with little effort. "Damn you Magnus!" But then he gets a transmission from Laserbeak, and huhs at the information revealed. "So you say Ultra Magnus's armor is somewhat less dense at so and so, Laserbeak? Thanks, that marginally improved my chances of beating him!" Transforming, Americon decides to take advantage of this opportunity and fire a spread of rockets at the weak section of armor!

Americon's robot legs pop out metallic feather-like objects as they and his lower torso split apart, also revealing an eagle head. The arms and robot head join the main body, and his guns convert into tail feathers and rocket launchers. Americon is now a bald eagle!

Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> misses Ultra Magnus with his Rockets' Red Glare attack!

Tetrajet <Windshear> sees the Autobot retreat and his shot miss him to hit the side of a building. Scrambling to his feet, the Seeker takes off after the City Commander on foot and takes another shot at him in the meantime.

Cybertronian Tetra jet transforms into the pretty boy Decepticon, Windshear.

Combat: Windshear misses Ultra Magnus with his Slow Ray attack!

Tetrajet <Fleet> is passed over by the faster spaceship, Vigil, and is forced to give chase. He's faster than the Autobots on wheels, but in the crowded streets of Monacus, he's having a hard time getting in shots. He swerves back and forth, firing as he flies. "Blast it! This is almost as bad as TUNNELS!" he says as he shoots.

Combat: Tetrajet <Fleet> misses White Porsche 935 <Jazz> with his Persistent Freeze Ray attack! [Pulled -3]

Laserbeak flies in, maintaining the illusion of him giving a ferious chase at the Autobots, but in reality the mechanical condor is trying to keep himself closer to the rest of the Decepticon pack. Thanks to his keen visual acuity, Laserbeak is able to locate a suitable scouting platform and quickly descends upon it. A small compartment on top of Laserbeak's head opens and out slides a high sensitivity camera that begins to scan its latest target for useful information to upload.

Combat: Laserbeak analyzes Jazz for weaknesses Fleet can exploit.

Vigil would nod if he could. <<Right.>> He says as he flies on ahead, and alters his path to be infront of Fleet and fires a laser to try and lance into the tetrajet. <<Last Warning, if you dont come after me, the next blow will be serious.>> He warns to the decepticon, shooting at it to try and find a weakness in it's design.

Combat: Autobot Starfighter strikes Tetrajet <Fleet> with his Laser attack!

White Porsche 935 <Jazz> drives straight for the ship's boarding ramp. The steep ramp causes the porsche to jerk up and the rear bumper to send a shower of golden sparks as it comes into contact with the ground for a fraction of a second. "We are there coach." Once inside Jazz slams on the brakes and transforms into his robot mode. "Get to the cockpit and begin the pre-flight procedure. I'll see if I can't help hold them off."

The White Porsche unfolds, arms and legs are becoming visible. The body seems to cartwheel in mid-air, the robot form of Jazz stylishly lands and is ready for action.

Ultra Magnus continues his run, dodging from side to side to avoid any unwanted repair bills. And speaking of repairs, the City Commander eyes Patchwork in the area. <<Patchwork, rendevois with Jazz and Eject. Provide what help you can, we're getting off this planet one way or another!>> Turning to face the enemies of JUSTICE, Magnus sidesteps the poorly aimed rockets that resemble tail feathers ... his shoulder jutting forward like he's popping his collar. In reality, he's releasing a rocket of his own. The projectile sails through the air, spiraling around and headed for the Robotic Bald Eagle.

Combat: Ultra Magnus sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> with his Shoulder Missile attack! [Pulled -2]

Patchwork doesn't need to be told twice. <<Okay! Thank you for not forgetting me!>> Skidding around in as sharp a turn as she can manage, the medic starts towards the direction she'd seen Jazz and, she assumes Eject with him, went. She doesn't bother attacking, knowing that'd likely ust cause more problems than it'd solve!

You don't have to tail Eject twice. As Jazz transforms, the casette is shot out of the Porsche like a cannon ball. "Woaaah!!! Hang ten!!"

Landing on the boarding ramp with a heavy *CLANK*, the smaller bot makes a bee-line for the shuttle entrance. "I'll have this baby ready for the prize fight in no time! Give me a few seconds and a drink of Energon-Aid!"

<<Eject to Magnus, I'm going to power up Seabiscuit for the Kentucky Derby!!>>>

Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> briefly vanishes in the blast of Magnus's shoulder missile, and when the smoke clears, well, Americon doesn't quite pull off emerging unharmed and smirking, and this is because the blast knocked him straight into a casino, wherein he knocked over a roulette table and, ironically, a statue of a space parrot. However, Americon is nothing if not an annoying mix of persistence and durability, and he is soon zipping back out at Ultra Magnus.

"Trying to FLEE?" Americon asks. "How can you do that... if you can't SEEEEE!" His horrible rhyming accomplished, Americon attempts to wrap his wings around Magnus's head to cover up his optics. Then he's tries to peck his skull.

Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> strikes Ultra Magnus with his O' Say Can You See attack!

Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Ultra Magnus's Accuracy. (Blinded)

Windshear sees his shot miss and also sees several Autobots heading for a cruise ship. Well, if he cant hit his target, perhaps he will hit what is their only means of escape right now. With that the Seeker transforms without breaking stride, hits the air and fires at the cruise ship.

Pretty boy Windshear transforms into a Cybertronian pyramid/Tetrajet.

Combat: Tetrajet <Windshear> strikes Intergalactic Cruise Ship <Uniswifter> with his Laser attack!

Tetrajet <Fleet> is blasted in the tail-fins as he flees Vigil - and chases the other Autobots. He snorts and starts attempting some trickier maneuvers to make him a harder target. "If you're not using your serious shots already, that's your mistake!" And then he continues to not target Vigil, instead going after the vessel the Autobots seem to be boarding!

Combat: Tetrajet <Fleet> misses Intergalactic Cruise Ship <Uniswifter> with his Persistent Freeze Ray attack!

Vigil was about to ram into the tetrajet, stardrives sent to full blast as he catches up to the ship. Just as he was about to make contact, he veers off and flies right for the cruise ship, slowing down once he was close enough so he wouldnt slam into the ship like a bullet.

Combat: Autobot Starfighter begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from XF-35B Astral Lightning <Catechism>

Ultra Magnus has an Americon wrapped around his face. There is some sort of clever pun you could insert here, but Magnus is all out puns ... and options at this point. His only course of action being of course, is to tear this pathetic cassettecon from his vision and continue to fall back to the shuttle. "Hrmph!" he let's out, grasping out with one hand at the 'scruff' of the Robotic Eagle's neck. With one gesture he rips him from his head, then tosses him in the air. "Goodbye!" Magnus jests, aiming his foot for the falling/floating form of Americon.

Combat: Ultra Magnus misses Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> with his DAS BOOT! (Kick) attack!

From Intergalactic Cruise Ship <Uniswifter>, - "You know, this reminds me of the Ice Bowl between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers," the Autobot emits to himself. As he finds a set of controls handily inside the shuttle, the Casette pops up into the pilot's chair.

"It was in that game at the Cowboys' defense had to hold the Packers...except they couldn't stop Bart Starr with the game on the line. Well /this/ time, the Cowboys are gonna hold!!"

Eject pushes a large green button that reads POWER ENGINES. After that, the Autobot's next move is to look for any tactical systems, if the cruise ship has any. "Let's see...slot machines, stage lights, sound system, life support, and uh...oh whatever...let's fire them all up!"

Slamming the whole group of buttons, the casette locks onto one of the Decepticons as the ship's engines continue to warm up. "It's GAME TIME!!" Oh and don't mind all the DJ lights, and loud music pumping away through obnoxiously loud speakers.

Combat: Intergalactic Cruise Ship <Uniswifter> misses Tetrajet <Windshear> with its Laser attack!

Patchwork scrambles up after Jazz and Eject into their getaway ship, more than happy to be up and on her way! She stays just inside the door, turning back to look out the door. "Ultra Magnus...hurry!" she calls, waving towards him, urging him to the ship.

Jazz continues observing from his spot on the ramp. He has some wires sticking from his hip which go into the ship. "Come on Magnus, quit toying with them. We need to get the hell outta Dodge in a big way man." Jazz ponders being a real jerk but alas the situation is not...idea. Still what's life without risk? The Autobot transforms into his car mode and drives onto the ramp...A big pair of speakers appear near the rear spoiler. "Oh yeah...Rock this party!" The most annoying song (Rock this party Bby Bob Sinclair) begins to blare out while the car's AND the ships lights begin to flash in an epileptic worthy pattern.

Jazz leaps into the air and folds down on himself and into a stylish white Porsche 935.

Combat: Jazz sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: White Porsche 935 <Jazz> strikes Tetrajet <Fleet> with his Sound and Light Show Area attack!

Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Tetrajet <Fleet>'s Agility. (Crippled)

Combat: White Porsche 935 <Jazz> misses XF-35B Astral Lightning <Catechism> with his Sound and Light Show Area attack!

Combat: White Porsche 935 <Jazz> misses Laserbeak with his Sound and Light Show Area attack!

Combat: White Porsche 935 <Jazz> strikes Tetrajet <Windshear> with his Sound and Light Show Area attack!

Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Tetrajet <Windshear>'s Agility. (Crippled)

Tetrajet <Fleet> swoops in, firing at the ship... close enough to be blasted by Jazz's sound and light show! "ARGH!" he screams, pulling up and twisting in the air. He tries to turn back around and fire at the ship again, but... really, who knows WHAT he'll hit?

Combat: Tetrajet <Fleet>'s Persistent Freeze Ray attack on Intergalactic Cruise Ship <Uniswifter> goes wild!

Combat: Tetrajet <Fleet> strikes Laserbeak with his Persistent Freeze Ray attack!

XF-35B Astral Lightning <Catechism> avoids Jazz's sound and light attack by virtue of... not looking in that direction, yes. She's flying in the air somewhat near Fleet and Windshear. As the Autobot spaceship makes a run for it, she realises that the Autobot simply cannot be allowed to escape. She growls, "Fox three," and lets a slammer off the chain after the Sticky Note Autobot. (What? It's not like she paid attention to his name.)

Combat: Catechism sets her defense level to Fearless.

Combat: XF-35B Astral Lightning <Catechism> strikes Autobot Starfighter with her AIM-120C AMRAAM attack!

Tetrajet <Windshear> sees the cruisers guns pivot toward him and fire and quickly he banks to the side to avoid the shot only to fall right in the path of a serious sound and light attack. The jet drops altitude sharply and like in mollasses, Windshear tries to stay level but its like all his controls arent working right. Confused and seemingly crippled the Tetrajet responds hap hazardly to the laserfire he hears around him and fires at what he hopes is the cruiser.

Combat: Tetrajet <Windshear>'s Laser attack on Intergalactic Cruise Ship <Uniswifter> goes wild!

Combat: Tetrajet <Windshear> misses Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> with his Laser attack!

Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> is ripped off of Magnus's face, but the large Autobot's kick against him doesn't quite work so well. Instead of getting the boot, Americon grabs at the bottom Magnus's foot, and furiously pecks away at it. Even though his current position puts him right under Magnus's foot, meaning the Autobot will crush him with every step, Americon refuses to give up!

Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> misses Ultra Magnus with his Worst Fighting Technique Ever (Smash) attack!

Laserbeak scrambles into the air as his onboard sensors alerts him to the tall tale signs of the shuttle's engine core being powered up. Rather than face Galvatron's wrath over failing to detain the Autobots, the crafty Decepticon Cassetticon chances at the prospect of getting shot at by the cruise ship's light weaponary in order to attempt to damage the shuttle's navigational thrusters.

Laserbeak flies down and low, gliding towards the rear of the shuttle before turning about and firing a volley. On his flight path out, Laserbeak banks sharply away from Jazz, an effort that saves the Cassetticon from a potentially dangerous attack. Unfortunately the mechanical condor could not have anticipated that Fleet's ice beams would ricochet and catch him in the rear. Panic takes over as Laserbeak's engines fail and the mechanical condor promptly makes his retreat to safer grounds.

Combat: Laserbeak begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Autobot Starfighter, Tetrajet <Fleet>, XF-35B Astral Lightning <Catechism>, Intergalactic Cruise Ship <Uniswifter>, and Tetrajet <Windshear>

Vigil spins and tries to evade the missile but it hits nonetheless and he literally blasts into the ship, crashing and grinding against the floor. He then transforms and shakes his head. "Ow..." He mutters as he looks at his his damaged body. "Nice job sirs!" He cheers to Ultra Magnus and Jazz.

From Intergalactic Cruise Ship <Uniswifter>, - "Alright! Now, we're cookin' with energon!" says Eject as he glances over the ship's system report screen. As each ship system initializes, a green light turns on next to the corresponding ship function. As the seconds pass, the Autobot sees more and more green lights popping up on the computer screen. <<Eject to Autobots! The team bus is warmed up and ready for departure! This game is over and the fat lady's singing!>>

Switching back to tactical mode for a second, the casette keeps the luxury ship pumping out loud music and bright lights. Dawning a grin, Eject taps his fingers on the control screen as he lines up another target with the ship's obviously, poorly-designed weapons.

Combat: Intergalactic Cruise Ship <Uniswifter> strikes Tetrajet <Fleet> with its Rocket attack!

Jazz transforms back to robot mode and admires his handywork with a smirk "Come on Magnus, we are leaving!" He unplugs himself from the ship's PA and light system. Fast thinking hard at work.

Ultra Magnus tries vainly to shake his foot from Americon's grasp ... but the little bugger has got himself rightly planted on the City Commander's foot. <<I'm trying ... he isn't making this retreat easy.>> he sighs into the communicator device. Looking from ship to sky to Decepticons ... Magnus realizes they need to get into that ship and get the heck out of dodge. "Alright, we'll do this the hard way!" Maggie yelps out, stomping his foot down while he plods towards the craft. Whether he manages to make Americon roadkill or drive him away with the impending crushing of foot, he could care less.

Combat: Ultra Magnus misses Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> with his STOMP STOMP! attack! [Pulled -5]

"Leave him alone!" Patchwork shouts at the various 'Cons picking on Magnus. She watches without leaving the ship, not stupid enough despite how badly she wants to help.

Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> squawks as he observes that Magnus is about to bring his foot down really hard this time! "Wait, I suddenly realized that I do not, in fact, like to be stepped on!" Releasing the foot, Americon hits his head on the pavement and tumbles along for a few feet before coming to a rest flat on his face. "Urf. I need to stop fighting Ultra Magnus... IN AMERICA!"

Combat: Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Tetrajet <Windshear> is still confuzzled and can't seem to make anything work the way he wants it to. Shortly the Seeker hits the ground not to gently and slides a bit flipping into robot mode. Hes still dazed by Jazz's attack and not stunned a bit from crashing.

Cybertronian Tetra jet transforms into the pretty boy Decepticon, Windshear.

Combat: Windshear takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Tetrajet <Fleet> is totally not picking on Ultra Magnus! He's getting picked on by a cruise ship! He twists and pulls away. "Yaaaargh!" He flies past the ship, then pulls back around, trying to get his sights straight.

Combat: Tetrajet <Fleet> takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Laserbeak is already far far away from the area by now. The only indication that the Cassetticon was ever there is the trail of black smoke that was emitted by his damaged engines.

Combat: Laserbeak takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Ultra Magnus keeps on treking towards the shuttle, not bothering to look behind him now. Up the ramp and into the craft, the City Commander opens up his shortwave while jogging. <<Eject, you got this tugboat ready to lift off? Vigil, Patchwork ... take up defensible positions on the deck and give us coverfire!>>

"Imagine the look on Galvacrud's face when he see's us get away with a luxary liner." Vigil says with a laugh as he watches the two superior officers. "Right sir." HE says as he heads into the upper deck to find a weapon system.

Tetrajet <Fleet> chases after the ship, but it totally not as fast as a luxury liner. Curses!

As the the cruise ship's streaking rocket miraculously finds a target, Eject pumps his tiny arms in the air, "Whoop there it is!! Eject throws down the monster dunk and he's heating up."

Content with his NBA Jam(tm) reference, the casette gets back to work on preparing the ship for departure. Giving the main control screen a once-over, the Autobot shouts out to Ultra Magnus as he arrives, "Coach!! It's time for kickoff!!"

Reaching for the shuttle control, Eject blasts the cruise liner's afterburners, lifting Uniswifter into the skies over Monacus. Time for the Autobot to make their escape!

ELSEWHERE

Catechism sits at a desk, typing on a keyboard furiously, face only lit by the glow of the screen.

HERE

Catechism's body double completely fails to do anything useful in the mission!

The truth. Or is it?

Ultra Magnus reaches the deck, and eyes Eject behind the captain's chair. Well, it is a little small for him anyways. The City Commander approaches the communications array and hurridly checks them over for operational status. "Hrm, they work ... but nothing is strong enough to get a signal out. Jazz, see if you can't boost the signal ... for Cybertron's sake!"

Patchwork hovers near the back, weight shifting from foot to foot and back. "What can I do? Are you damanged, Ultra Magnus? I can repair you...!"

Jazz looks at the ship's readouts "I do not think I can boost the signal off the bat like that. Maybe if I can do some work like chain all the comm and entertainment modules together and redirect everything on the main array it's possible." Jazz the scientist? No but he's a mean McGuyver.

Ultra Magnus nods his head once, "Okay. And yes Patchwork, we'd appreciate it if you saw to the wounded ... starting with Jazz." Headed for a comfortable large loveseat, the Autobot takes a seat and pretty much takes up the entire thing. "Inform me immediately once we're in range Jazz."

================================== Autobot ================================ Message: 3/213                    Posted        Author Escape from Monacus               Fri Dec 11    Jazz --- The camera zooms out a bit and Jazz seems to be sitting in a very expensive chair with some fancy bar behind him.
 * The Autobot spinny disappears and is replaced by Jazz's face which looks like it has seen better days. The visor is slightly cracked, the shoulders are dented, scorched and the middle of the chest seems severely damaged as well. ****

"This is Jazz reporting from the..." he turns off screen "What are we gonna call it? No idea...Allright allright I'll think of something." He turns back to the camera "Like I was saying Jazz reporting from the Luxury Liner <Sinatra>. Ultra Magnus, Vigil, Eject, Patchwork and myself managed to escape from Monacus aboard this luxury ship." His face takes on a more serious expression "Looking in the rear view mirrow we saw what we were leaving behind. The planets were not destroyed, they were stolen outright. Somehow the Decepticons managed to move the planets into some sort of Ring-like structure. It's...beyond big. We could fit a couple of Unicrons in there and STILL have room. Anyway, I do not have the exact coordinates yet but we will be able to extrapolate them from our travel log once we reach home."

"On another note Rodimus, I can confirm that there WAS a clone of Galvatron active at some point. I do not have any more details on that but all signs point to the clone theory being correct."

Jazz looks tired and slightly confused for a sec. "I think that is all. Now if nobody minds I think I will go pass out on the couch for the rest of the trip."

**** Jazz walks off the camera and it returns to the spinny ****

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