Countdown: Mars

Monday, July 02, 2012, 6:32 AM

Promontory Point, Mars

The vast red planetscape of Mars extends for thousands of kilometers, uninterrupted by little more than dust, rocks, and the occasional geological feature, at least until this particular area. Formerly the site of the Terran compound, it was the resting place of the massive city-Transformer Trypticon for a time, and of the compound itself, there are few traces; Trypticon parked himself right on top of it. To the southeast is the largest canyon system on the planet, Valles Marineris, dwarfing even Trypticon himself.

It all started with a hyperspace signature detected on the outskirts of the SOL system. Typically, any incoming starships would drop out of hyperspace well before reaching the gravity well of the system, then use sub-light engines to coast in the rest of the way.

But this is far from a typical flight mission. A delay of even two seconds from the normal 'drop out' point can have far reaching effects, and by the time the warp field had dropped the incoming ship was already coasting at breakneck speed past the outer planets and rapidly approaching the asteroid belt ringing the midway point of the solar system. It had taken weeks and weeks of preparing, planning and some just plain good old guesswork, but the course plotted was precise and even as the ship continued to decelerate, it rocketed through without so much as touching a single asteroid. The approach to the sun had been specifically planned, catching in the gravity well as the craft slingshotted around from the far side, opposite of where Earth and Mars were coasting on their preplanned orbits. And it was the latter of those two planetoids that was the target.

The Orion Pax had arrived, at no small risk to itself and those aboard...but arrived all the same in one piece, and at near breakneck speed. It's only at the point that the huge Autobot flagship is dipping down to enter Mars' atmosphere that its speed has returned to anything like normal...right at the point that alarm klaxons and battlestation alerts are already ringing throughout the ship.

The huge ship begins its transformation as it starts the descent towards its target destination. Even as Decepticon sensors no doubt begin to light up and scream for attention at the presence of the goliath Autobot flagship, the armored bulkheads slide back and entire sections of the ship's whole front begin to reconfigure and open themselves up, revealing weapons ports and the entire frame of the main cannon array brought online.

It's at this point that the -real- payload starts to unload, however. The front end of the ship comes alive as multiple ports, almost like torpedo or missile launchers slide free and start unleashing swarms of rocket-boosted pods. It almost looks like a massed missile attack aimed at the Decepticon facility below, but the payload on these 'missiles' is something far different than an explosive one. Within each pod is an Autobot, loaded and ready for combat, taking the wild ride down as the pods dip towards the enemy base and one-by-one slam into the thick red Martian dust. But it doesn't end there...as a moment later, massive drills mounted in the bottom of each pod suddenly spin rapidly to life and cause the pod to burrow down and into the ground, towards the underground facility itself, circumventing the whole surface attack entirely.

It's likely that the comm system for Snarl's assault pod has been shut off, as the dinobot is either hemorrhaging lubricants involuntarily, or having a blast. Either way, someone got really lucky convincing the dinobot to get in the pod in robot mode.

Rodimus Prime wasn't in one of those pods at the moment. He was on the bridge of the Orion Pax itself, currently with his rifle in hand as he looked at the tactical readouts playing across the screens in front of him. A superimposed wire-frame image of the flagship was suddenly blotted out by countless blinking dots that indicated the 'pods' leaving their bays and streaking down towards the Decepticon installation en masse. Reports come in from all over the bridge.

"Pods away, Rodimus. First launches are already making planetfall and burrowing into the ground. Second wave is loading up and preparing to fire."

"Decepticon response is expected at any minute. Our surprise moment is probably all but gone at this point..."

"All systems are green. Battlecruiser mode is ready for action."

Rodimus nods slowly, shifting his rifle up to the crook of one arm, "Alright, I'm going down with the second wave. Bridge crew, you're taking over. Get all packages away, then you know what to do. Good luck everyone!" And with that, the Autobot leader takes off at a dead run down towards the loading bays, just in time to quickly squeeze himself into another pod for the second wave, which launches en masse with a deafening *WHOOOSH* and a torrent of exhaust trails as the Rain of Autobots descends to the surface of Mars below.

Amber MacKenzie really shouldn't be here, but she saw the start of this, and she wants to see the end of it. So she monitors a minor ship subsystem aboard the Orion Pax to free up someone for more important tasks. A bit above the trained monkey level, which is why it needs someone, but easy enough for an untrained civilian. Dutifully, she keeps her eyes on the monitor, not the ship's viewscreen, but she's listening for all she's worth. "Good luck, Rodimus," she murmurs as the Autobot leader makes his exit.

-SEVERAL MINUTES AGO-

"Don't worry guys," Wheeljack remarks jovially as he pats the side of one drill-pod. "This babies are specifically designed and precision crafted for this scenario. The entire exterior is plated in crematic-coated anti-thermal alloy shielding, while the drills are carbonite-diamond multi-cut augers derived from Nosecone and Twin Twist's designs." He pauses as a signal light overhead flicks from red to green. "There's the callsign guys, time to load up and get ready for a wild ride."

Wheeljack starts to step into his own pod, then pauses to look back. "Oh, and on the off chance that your pod does get stuck halfway underground, there is an emergency beacon box to your upper right. Someone will come dig you out." Pause. "Eventually. Have fun and enjoy the trip!" He's way too cheerful about these sort of things.

-NOW-

Wheeljack is holding on for dear life as the pod rattles its way into the ground and shaking a good bit while it bores its way through the Martian soil. "M-m-maybe-e-e-e I should of c-c-c-c-consid-d-d-ered st-t-t-t-turdier-r-r-r-r anti-vi-vi-vibration shielding-g-g-g-g."

Fortress Maximus finds himself confined within one of the larger sized landing pods that were specifically designs for mission requirements exactly like this. The Headmaster commander studies the small video screen that was placed, head level, in front of him and through it he is able to witness every moment of his journey in this operation.

He watches as the sensors outside shows his pod being loaded into a tube and less than a minute later, the surrounding the pod flares brilliantly white as his pod is shot out of the torpedo tube and suddenly the deep pitch black vastness of space overtakes the screen but for a brief moment before the huge red planet of Mars gradually begins to fill out his screen. While all of this is happening, Fortress Maximus can feel the G-forces build up despite the small inertia dampeners working at maximum power to lessen the stress of re-entry.

Red mountains begins to fill up the screen as the Headmaster commander's pod breaks through into the atmosphere. On cue, Fortress Maximus taps the small control pads on each side of his hands and begins to activate the landing procedures, prompting rockets to fire underneath his pod and slowing his descent speed while specialized drills extends out from its protective hatches, ready to cut through the earth the moment the pod makes contact. *** BOOM THUD ***, there's a dull thud, indicating that the pod has hit contact, and just as planned the pod continues to sink into the earth and towards the subterranean caverns beneath the surface of Mars. Fortress Maximus' screen darkens, as his pod travels through the earth, and eventually it stops.

Galvatron flings the elevator door open and storms into the alien base, casting about for Shockwave. "Shockwave! Shockwave, where are you?" Another few slammed doors, shoved gumbies, and one slapped sweep later, Galvatron bursts in on Shockwave looking both angry and hopeful. "What was that vibration? Do you have the Device working again? We're under attack by the Autobots, but Trypticon can withstand their flagship's ordnance. They have no hope of dislodging us THAT way!"

Cyclonus runs out of Trypticon's command tower, gaping upwards at the sudden rain of Autobots! "What!? We'd have seen the Orion Pax coming, what treachery is this?" A Sweep runs up to him, cringing fearfully. "C-Cyclonus sir, they came out of hyperspace just past the outer planets and used their momentum to approach the planet!"

"WHAT?!" Cyclonus roars, turning on the Sweep with a fist clenched. The Sweep covers his head and whimpers. "Are they INSANE!? Blast them, if only they had struck something on their approach! Even the smallest of asteroids could have heavily damaged or even destroyed their ship at such velocities! SWEEPS! Attack! Drive them off! All Decepticons, engage the Autobots and do not let them near the secret facility! Trypticon!!! Begin transformation sequence and engage the Autobot battlecruiser!"

Much as before when Sky Lynx had been antagonizing him, Trypticon rumbles, panels shifting and parts sliding together as he begins his transformation into robot mode. And once again Decepticons eagerly abandon him. Even inside a so-called "safe zone," being trapped inside a transforming city can be a harrowing experience. Cyclonus follows suit, hopping off of the city and transforming into fighter mode. "Your lucky streak ends today, Autobots!" he vows.

 Cyclonus says, "Decepticons, counter-attack! Shoot those torpedoes down!"

"And, ah, the upgrades to the outer defences were only half complete, and the repair crews couldn't get back inside... and... the Autobots..." the little green Decepticon wipes his brow, cursing that he's leaking lubricant through his cranium now of all times. Across from him, in the middle of Trypticon's darkened Security Center, sits Shockwave. There are wires and cables hooked up to his frame, and behind him is a wall of monitors revealing various locations in and around the Decepticon City.

Shockwave is paying more attention to processing the data in Trypticon's databanks than the conversation involving the sudden loss of Copernicus Station several days ago. Clearly his modifications to Copernicus Station's command structure came too late. Meanwhile, the green Decepticon does the robot equivalent of holding his breath, hoping that the Cyclops takes the report in a positive manner.

"The Orion Pax," Shockwave suddenly states, to the other robot's confusion. Shockwave has picked up on a minor discrepancy on a long range scan of the solar system. Something isn't right. He starts performing calculations, rapidly coming a conclusion even as the Autobot flagship blasts into orbit. <> he announces over the broadband, standing up, <> The cables connecting him to Trypticon's databanks fall aside as Shockwave strides towards the exit.

Meanwhile, in the underground alien base, one of Shockwave's assistants looks up from his console as Galvatron barges in. "Uh..." says the assistant. He too is suddenly leaking cranial lubricant. Must be an epidemic spreading through the ranks.

Bolting from Trypticon's main launch tower, Fusillade canvasses the Martian terrain, sneering internally at the regolith wafting from the Autobots' burrowing. She transforms over one of the holes, and drops a Mk 82 down the bore, spitting as she does. "Tunnel rats." She doesn't even wait for the detonation, turning her baleful gaze toward the Absolution itself. She transforms back to her bomber mode, and begins to intercept the spacecraft -- and any dawdling drop pods.

F-35B Lightning II  has been exiled for inappropriate behaviour at a diplomatic summit, lost in space , on vacation in the back ends of space! Because Decepticons take vacations. Ahem. After getting a bit too close to a quasar, she popped back to base for a maintenance check up and then popped back out to stretch her wings and has found weird Autobot drill pods falling from the sky, clearly using up a large chunk of the Autobot special effects budget early. Chaos and madness!

Contrail has missed this.

At Cyclonus's orders, she vectors back around to do just that.

Rodimus Prime is all bunched up in one of the pods...having to take almost fetal-like position thanks to his larger stature and having accidentally selected a 'standard' sized pod in order to make planetfall. Amongst all the others, he too streaks down like a comet and slams into the ground, the drill bit beneath suddenly whirling up to full speed as it proceeds to burrow into the soft Martian earth.

Somewhere down below, a trio of Decepticon soldiers glance about in confusion. There's an attack going on, and they -were- heading up to the surface...but what's all that vibration going on nearby?

The entire wall of their section of tunnel abruptly collapses inwards, scattering them like bowling pins and burying them underneath a small avalanche as the pod erupts into the underground caverns. Dropping free from the wall, the pod crashes to the ground, rolls to the opposite side and then comes to a stop before it hisses and pops open.

And out comes Rodimus...rifle in one hand, the other hand up and braced against his head to get the dizziness out while he kicks in his broadband Autobot radio, "Ugh. Wheeljack, your crazy inventions -worked- but I feel like all my gears have been shaken loose and then some. Alright Autobots, you won't have long before the Decepticons start trying to rally and push us out! IF you're near the alien device, fight your way to it and rendezvous together! If you aren't, cause some mayhem and get back to the surface and hold our escape route open. Let's get this done guys, we've got an awful lot of people back on Earth counting on us!"

Already transforming, the squeal of tires issues out as Rodimus' headlights pierce down the hallway ahead of him, roaring along at full speed as he activates a pre-set homing beacon and heads in what he hopes is the right direction.

Arms rotate backwards and legs fold in as Rodimus drops down into his vehicular mode. A moment later his trailer appears out of nowhere and hitches into place on his back.

The Orion Pax finishes launching its next wave of pods, then falls deceptively silent for a few moments as it continues to descend over the site of the battle below. Engines glow brilliantly bright as the Autobot Flagship banks hard to starboard, bringing it on a high speed pass just as the video screens on the bridge show the transformation sequence of the Decepticon cityformer underway.

"Looks like they managed to wake Trypticon up," one of the crew mutters, the others relatively silent as they concentrate on their stations.

The temporary Captain, an older Autobot with one of those totally cool metal beards that are the in fashion on aged Cybertronians, sits in the command chair. "Well let's make sure he's -really- awake. You know your jobs. Tactical, Rodimus wanted us to keep his attention...do your thing!"

A moment later, several brilliant bright blue lances of energy stab out towards Trypticon's position as the Orion Pax moves to overfly him, not even having had the decency of waiting for him to finish transforming before reaching out to 'touch' him, figuratively speaking.

Maybe the worst insult of all is that they -still- didn't bring Metroplex to play with him.

Finally the drilling drop-pod churns to a stop, hissing steam and rattling a few times... no wait, that was just Wheeljack kicking the hatch to get it open. "No fair. It didn't jam once in the simulations. Oh well," he mutters as he holds his head for a moment to get his bearings. "Definitely need better vibration shielding next time."

The mad engineer takes a moment to catch his robotic breath and look around the tunnel he's landed in, so to speak... Oh hey, there's Rodimus. "Okay, getting underground worked. Better make haste while we've got the time. He springs a few steps and then transformers, taking off at high speed before he even hits the ground fully.

Fortunately the off-shoot tunnel he stopped in merges with Rodimus' shortly therein and the sports car pulls up behind him. Though Wheeljack is paying more attention to the energy scanner imbedded in his dashboard. "Looks like we're on the right course. Time for a little application of knowledge for justice and blah blah blah oh where's Hot Spot to make the dramatic speeches when you need him?"

The sound of Martian stone can be heard being grinded away at one of the many subterranean caverns, this reaches its climax as large rectangular outline can be seen being cut out from within and eventually ends a combination of rectangular stone slab falling flat onto the ground followed by a pod hatch door being ejected out. A sandy dust cloud is stirred up around the opening, settling down just in time as the stoic form of Fortress Maximus emerges, photon rifle at the ready, << I've made it to the ground as well. Kudos to Wheeljack and his team of engineers. >>

Seeing that there's no immediate hostile presence in the section, Fortress Maximus begins to head for the nearest door way that'll probably lead towards other sections of this cavernous underground base, << Understood, Rodimus. My team, form up at our designated rendezvous point and prepare to head for the main objective! >> The Headmaster commander finishes radioing out to his own squad of Autobots under his command, but from the lack of sound of drilling from drillings emanating from behind the stone walls, he begins to suspect the worst.

Nevertheless, he soldiers on. Eventually his path, largely uneventful as it was up until now, merges with Rodimus Prime and Wheeljack, "I didn't see anyone else from my team. Looks like the Decepticons reacted faster to our invasion than predicted. They sure do adapt fast to our tactics, as unconventional as it might be."

Amber MacKenzie makes minor adjustments to her console, keeping the target line from straying too far off course. A soft feedback beep indicates that she's locked on for a moment, long enough to look up and desperately try to take everything in before the monitor requires her attention again. She gets an eyeful of Trypticon transforming and growls uncomplimentary things about the giant Dino. But only for a moment, then she's back to tracking the... what's-it.

The dinobot takes a few moments to figure how to get out. Dropping into a tunnel, he looks back and forth, trying to figure which way to go, <>

 Rodimus Prime says, "Snarl this is one of those rare and happy times I can tell a Dinobot you can wreck -anything- in sight. Especially if it's got a Decepticon symbol. If you can't reach the rest of us, make your way to the surface and help any other Autobots hold the line. We'll need to be getting out that way when we're done down here."

 Rodimus Prime says, "If in doubt, start following the tunnels and see where they take you."

Shuddering throughout, the drill-pod barely makes it halfway down before getting it's tip dug into some rather dense deposits. The Autobot cadet, optics still closed, slowly stirs when the vehicle has stopped it's hellacious pace.. suddenly and without warning. "Hey, what the glitch!" he swears, banging on the interior control panel.. trying desperately to manage a response from the contraption, Wheeljack had warned about this sort of malfunction in the mid-flight briefing. Desperate, the Autobot starts kicking at the interior, obviously not entirely enthused about being trapped inside this coffin!

From outside the drill-pod, the young Autobot can hear commotion.. then the pod is being forcibly -drug- up the makeshift tunnel it had just created upon landing. Bracing himself, the cadet arms his photon rifle and waits. Who knows what's outside that sealed hatch. As the drill-pod is brought to the surface with a *KLUNK*, the hatch is involuntarily ripped off its hinges..

Only to reveal Ultra Magnus, giving the cadet a hand out of the drill-pod. "Whoa, Greenhorn.. don't shoot." he smiles. Breathing a sigh of relief, Greenhorn accepts the hand out and takes a look around. Up in the sky, pods are being destroyed in mid-air, their ashes swirling ever closer to the red ground. However on the ground, a small group of Autobots flank Ultra Magnus.

"Listen, I've been rounding up the stragglers Greenhorn.. doesn't look good." Ultra Magnus admits, leading the rag-tag group of Autobots back towards their temporary and hastily constructed defenses. "Take stock, reload weapons, distribute excess, and keep sharp men." the City Commander orders, taking a peek from behind their small barricade. "This is long from over."

And lo, the heavens opened up, and a great hand stretched forth, and gave a little pat to the dinobot's backside, giving him permission to go forth and render unholy havoc among the septicons!

 Wheeljack says, "Snarl?"

 Rodimus Prime says, "Ultra Magnus, I hope you made it down in one piece. Since I'm down below I'm taking the lead for the insertion team. Topside's yours."

 Ultra Magnus says, "Copy that Prime, already coordinating our ground forces to hold the line."

 Wheeljack says, "Daddy says -break stuff-"

Seaside looks nervously over the blockade, his optics fluttering a bright blue while his mouthplate trembles. Slinking back down under his cover, the minibot turns to Undertow. "I'm not even supposed to be here today! I mean, come on man.. I turn into a jetski, what's that gonna do on MARS??"

Galvatron puts out a hand to steady himself against the wall as the underground facility gives another shudder. "That's not us, is it?" he demands, grabbing Shockwave's poor little assistant and shaking him vigorously. "The Autobots must be bombarding us with some kind of seismic weapon! They could be landing troops at any moment!" He throws the assistant into a corner. "Stay there, then, if you lack the will to fight! I will handle the Autobots myself!"

 Galvatron says, "Shockwave, Cyclonus! What are the Autobots doing? Where are they? I will meet them on the field of battle!"

 Shockwave says, "They have deployed burrowing one-mech pods to reach the underground base."

 Shockwave says, "You may be the only one currently in position to stop them, Galvatron."

 Galvatron says, "What? Using themselves as weapons? I would almost admire their boldness, if it was anyone else!"

Trypticon had been irritated ever since that fight with Sky Lynx. Stupid slippery shuttle. He had taken his frustrations out on some of his inhabitants by closing automatic doors in their faces and turning off the lights at inopportune moments. Such are the perils of life in a sentient, evil city. But now finally Trypticon can face down an enemy that's too big and ungainly to get away from him. Yes, the Pax's fire rakes into him, but mostly it just warms him up. "PUNY SHIP," Trypticon roars as he stands up in dinosaur mode, and immediately begins firing back with his mortar launchers. Even those rounds that don't hit directly are sure to show the Pax with shrapnel.

Meanwhile, up on the surface, Greenhorn and Magnus's little moment is suddenly interrupted as a blast erupts at Greenhorn's feet, tossing him into the air! "Magnus!" Cyclonus says, transforming and landing on the ground nearby, stalking around the Autobot City Commander. "Too long has it been since I faced a worthy enemy. The boy leader. A pacifist coward. A medic. A human. A *human!* BAH! None of them were worthy! You, Magnus, you are the only Autobot I see as a worthy foe. Ironically enough, however, that is precisely why I must kill you..." And he lunges at Magnus, trying to tackle him to the ground!

Combat: Cyclonus misses Ultra Magnus with his Tackle (Smash) attack!

 Cyclonus says, "Fear not, my Lord, not all of the pods made it down. The Sweeps were quick to respond."

* This is long from over.*

A split second later, and Seaside is suddenly consumed by plasma from a titanic blast from behind. The Autobot's backside is shredded as he falls forward onto his hands and knees, smoke drifting up from the melted armour plating. His hand reaches out for his cover, but then falls still. There's the telltale transformation sound as Shockwave shifts back out of laser gun mode, planting his feet on the solid red ground. "I agree entirely, Ultra Magnus. This has only just *begun*."

Moments ago, Shockwave had blasted out of Trypticon as the cityformer stirred into dinosaur mode. The green assistant from Copernicus Station wasn't so lucky, and found himself trapped by one of the shifting bulkheads. Shockwave quickly took stock of the chaos unfolding all around him. The Orion Pax in orbit, drop pods falling rapidly. Upon impact to the ground and vanishing, Shockwave can see exactly what they're doing. He fired off a quick transmission to the Decepticon broadband to warn Galvatron. Then he had seen Ultra Magnus, Seaside, Greenhorn, Undertow, and the rest of his band. Seaside knows what happened next.

Now on the ground confronting the squad of Autobots, Shockwave watches as Cyclonus lunges for Ultra Magnus. Shockwave instead focuses on the rest of the survivors, spraying x-ray blasts in their direction.

Galvatron comes out of the lab with one hand to the side of his head, metaphorically shouting into his radio as he strides through the gently curving silver corridors towards what the Decepticons refer to as 'the Device.' Turning a corner, he spots a car-shaped Autobot clambering out of one of the drill pods, drill tip still glowing with heat from breaching the wall.

"Hnh!" grunts Galvatron, jogging up to Dash and grabbing him by the head to yank him out of the pod and slam him face-first into the opposite wall before Dash can pull his sidearm. Galvatron tosses the unluckily-disabled Autobot over his shoulder and continues in that direction, charging his cannon.

<Decepticon> Cyclonus says, "Decepticons. It occurs to me that we could quickly make our way back down to the facility using the very same tunnels the Autobots just dug up."

F-35B Lightning II <Contrail> is thinking that getting between Trypticon and the Orion Pax is an exceptionally bad idea. Flying into the air behind the Orion Pax, would also be a bad idea, because if any of Trypticon’s shots miss, they could hit her. Flying into the air behind Trypticon is also a bad idea for mostly the same reason. Why not just get out of the air entirely while the heavy artillery is being flung? So the jet hovers on down, a billowing cloud of Martian fines blowing around her, and lands next to one of the holes. Then she transforms and follows it down. Where will this go?

Marauder steps forward, kicking up a small cloud of grey, metallic grey dust. He appears to be on Cybertron, as it looked during the golden age. He is in fact standing in a holographic recreation aboard Trypticon, but it is a flawless facsimile. He stretches out a black hammer that has been dipped in phosphorous pink paint against the body of a nervous looking Decepticon scout. "First rule," he intones in a gravelly voice, "You get an instant kill on the pink." He marks the neck, "Here," and then the laser core, "and here." He turns, addressing the students directly, "Always remember" he dips his hammer in another tray of phosphorous material, which changes the colour to a lime green, "go for the pink first, because if you don't, the Autobot will." He lets that sink in for a moment. Sure, it may not be true, but it's never too early to indoctrinate the newest members of the Decepticons. "On the lime you get a cripple," he marks the optics and audio sensors of the 'volunteer', then the joints. "Remember, a crippled Autobot may strike when you least expect it." It is then that his attention is diverted by one of the students, who's looking up, "Traprat, why are you looking at the ceiling?" The Decepticon still looking up, "I don't think that sound's part of the simulator, boss." When Marauder looks up, his curiosity piqued, the roof collapses in on itself.

Flaming Winnebago <Rodimus Prime> is of course leading the way with the other Autobots, engine roaring as he smashes aside several more Decepticon seekers unlucky enough to be in his path. They barely got a few shots off before they were effectively run down in the process. The final obstacle is a pair of bulkhead doors, which are abruptly smashed aside in an instant and all but wrenched off of their hinges as Rodimus catches 'air' coming out of the tunnel, transforming in mid-flight and skidding to a halt in a shower of sparks. Two surprised Decepticon technicians are put down in a series of quick, sharp rifle blasts before Rodimus turns and gestures quickly with one hand to the Autobots following him.

Of course, they're emerged into the main control chamber, where the heart and 'guts' of the machinery is housed. Cavernous in here, even by Cybertronian standards. Lots of room to move...and fight.

"Alright Wheeljack, start working your magic! Max, looks like we're going to have to anchor ourselves here and hold the line I give not even a minute before we get a response of some kind here." Rodimus can't help but look up. Way up, along the open shaft and pit above...recalling that it's easy for -any- Decepticon to just descend downwards on anti-gravs as need be. "....REAL soon. Okay Autobots, this is it! Lock and load and let's give those Decepticons the kick in the tailpipe they've had coming for a good while now!"

Down in the tunnels, the dinobot has been given the holy order. Undecided which direction to go, he picks up a rock, shuts his optics down and tosses it a direction. reactivating his eyes, he sees where the rock went, transforms, and heads in the other direction, almost bouncing with glee, singing off key, "Me Snarl get to break stuff, me Snarl get to break stuff." A poor Decepticon drone has a moment to realize something is horribly wrong before a golden thagomizer sends his cranial unit skipping down the tunnel ahead of the dinobot.

With hardly enough time to react to not one, but TWO of Galvatron's Command Level thugs; Ultra Magnus manages to shove Greenhorn forward while he himself shies away out of the lunge. "Autobots, fan out and engage!" he orders, turning his attention back to Galvatron's personal limo.

"I've got better things to do tonight than die!" the City Commander quips back, stealing Springer-Bot-Boy's line. Big blue charges forward, looking to deliver a hammer blow to the underside of Cyclonus' jawline.

The others from the rag-tag collection of Autobot resistance has scrambled, taking firing positions from multiple locations topside. Meanwhile, Undertow cradles the headless corpse of his fallen partner.. circuits still sizzling, fresh energon gushing from his wounds. "Why? WHY???"

Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes Cyclonus with his Stop.. Hammertime! (Punch) attack!

The Orion Pax shudders at the return fire from Trypticon's mortars, explosions blossoming along its hull where it wasn't able to move out of the way fully. Shields flare up from the impact, absorbing what they can, dissipating what they can't across their surfaces even as the huge ship continues to climb upwards. If there's one thing the Pax has going over Trypticon at least, it's an ability to keep airborne and not be forced into hand-to-hand combat with the goliath saurian like Metroplex. But then again, Metroplex would be the only Autobot in existence capable of fighting Trypticon on his own terms in an ideal situation. Nonetheless, the Pax dips down, flying dangerously close over a mountain range before banking back once more.

"Shields at 80% and holding. Though I don't recommend getting in an extended tradeoff of fire with Trypticon if we can help it!"

"We won't have to." The captain responds, glancing to the others, then gesturing forward with one hand. "Let's just keep him good and angry. Full torpedo volley when we crest the hill!"

As the Pax roars back into view, easily a dozen ship-to-ship torpedoes leave their bays, along with another brilliant stabbing of energy fire lancing out at Trypticon's chest as the ship moves for another high-speed broadside exchange of fire.

A console manned by an Autobot near where Amber sits explodes, sending the unfortunate crew member crashing back onto the deck plates, alive but offline for now. He'll be waking up in medical bay for a patch job later.

"Steady as she goes!" The Captain states without missing a beat.

Fortress Maximus falls to the back, opting to take the responsibility of being the rear guard as he follows the group being led forward to uncertain a destination by Rodimus Prime. By now, Fortress Maximus has deployed his two drones onto the field with him. Their purpose? Every so often the sounds of running footsteps can be heard echoing through the caverns, giving away the presence of an approaching Decepticon patrol. The Headmaster commander's drones does their bit in the Autobot's endeavour during these cases by speeding off and diverting the Decepticon patrols away from the main Autobot group before sneaking their way back to their master. Of course, this is just one of many cases where their group has made contact with Decepticon patrols, and by the time they've reached their objective, the Headmaster commander is sure that the Decepticons has pin pointed their position by now. But hey, they're at their objective now, so it's not all bad, right? RIGHT?!

As usual, what Rodimus Prime says makes plenty of tactical sense, and Fortress Maximus nods in agreement, "Will do, Rodimus." Having acknowledged the Autobot leader's commands, he begins surveying the room for better points to defend from. Before long, Fortress Maximus is ripping off some console terminal arrays, putting them against each other in strategically valuable locations in the room and welding them together, "Hopefully the Decepticons won't show up too soon. It shouldn't take too long to weld these makeshift cover down for us to use. As Fortress Maximus is working on setting down cover, his two drones circles around the cavernous room as it patrols the area for approaching hostiles.

Lancia Turbo <Wheeljack> is all too happy to let Rodimus handle clearing the way through any blockades, buzzing out of the tunnel behind the Winnebago and, not weighing quite so many tonnes with his sleeker racecar build, catches a bit more air. Before transforming and landing gracefully on one of the scaffolding catwalks a few meters farther along. "I just got to find something that looks important enough to screw around with," he replies to Prime with a laugh that's maybe a leeeeettle more eager sounding that it should be as he grabs the railing of the catwalk and jumps over it to a lower platform, zapping a gumbie technician with an electrical gun that drops him like a stunned rock, and starts sprinting across the walkway.

Lamborghini Gallardo <Contrail> follows the sound of engines down the tunnels. As soon as she sights their tail-lights, she cuts her engines and idles forward. There is a 'chk-hk' as her retractable machineguns deploy and the whine of gimbals as she selects her targets. This is... a marginally better situation than getting blown up accidentally by Trypticon. If a powerful Autobot like Rodimus Prime blows her up, it will at least be intentional, not accidental, and in the grand scheme of things, being blown up by Rodimus Prime probably hurts less than being blown up by an angry Galvatron.

Combat: Lamborghini Gallardo <Contrail> strikes Wheeljack but misses Rodimus Prime with her FN Minimi 5.56mm Light Machine Guns Area attack!

Galvatron slaps a door switch and there at the end of the next corridor, blocking his path to the chamber where the Device's shaft is located, is Fortress Maximus and some other Autobots he doesn't recognize, welding a barrier out of Galvatron's interior decor! "Cyborg!" Galvatron shouts, leveling his cannon. "This place is MINE! Go back to Earth and feed your head!" A rapid KA-CHOW-CHOW-CHOW racket through the halls as Galvatron pulses several shots into the makeshift barricade and its defenders.

Combat: Galvatron strikes Fortress Maximus with his Fusion Cannon attack!

<Decepticon> Marauder says, "Marauder reporting in to the commander of of Trypticon Station."

Marauder takes a step back after the ceiling collapses in from some kind of impact. Looking to the scouts, who are still undergoing basic training, he instructs, "Remain here. Continue sparring. If you encounter an intruder, kill it." Lifting off, he begins to levitate up towards the opening in the ceiling, and has to rip it apart, widening it so that he may fit through. "I shall return once I find who caused this."

Shockwave exchanges fire with the now more entrenched members of Ultra Magnus's squadron. Undertow had better suck it up and find some cover unless he wants to join Seaside. Shockwave watches as Ultra Magnus pops Cyclonus one in the jaw and decides that the battle up here is irrelevant compared to the battle in the alien base. << Cyclonus,>> he transmits, << I am headed underground. You can deal with Ultra Magnus.>> Charging up for another burst, Shockwave fires a long volley of arm cannon blasts at the Autobots. This isn't intended to hit anyone necessarily, but just force them to keep their heads down for when Shockwave flies to the shaft that leads down into the base and begins his descent. He'll make it to help Galvatron and Contrail next round.

Cyclonus stumbles after the failed tackle, setting himself up perfectly for Magnus's uppercut, which sends him flying away from the City Commander. He lands on his knee, rubbing his jaw. "Well struck, Magnus. However, despite your efforts, your plans for tonight are about to *change.*" He charges in, firing away with his oxidizing laser. "I'll give you Autobots this--it was a foolhardy ploy, but it worked. For a while. But many of your men are already down. What small handful of Autobots actually made it down there, Magnus? Galvatron is down there, now, killing them one by one! All you have strived for is for naught!"

Meanwhile, up above, Trypticon watches as the torpedoes glide towards him. Deciding that he's not equipped to intercept them in this mode, he transforms into battle station mode. While this costs him valuable seconds, the sheer amount of point defense fire he's able to put out is enough to obliterate all but one of the torpedoes, which manages to find its marks and explode violently on his hull. This completely destroys the Decepticon rec room inside him, a devastating blow to be sure. And also a cooling plant, but losing the rec room is much worse, no doubt.

Cyclonus absent-mindedly transmits as he fires, <<Of course, Shockwave. I'll have him bested before long.>>

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Ultra Magnus with his Oxidizing Laser attack!

The readings on Amber's console fluctuate wildly at the same time the explosion occurs, and she fights to keep the power steady. A few small pieces of shrapnel zip by, one bounces off her monitor and another off her helmet, but they fortunately do no serious damage. Her instincts scream to duck, but as before, she's fastened to her seat by a web of straps. Once her console beeps again to indicate a lock, she manages enough time to look quickly around: the main viewscreen, the other stations, and a regretful look at her unlucky neighbor. Oh, and something else.

<Decepticon> Galvatron says, "Fortress Maximus is at the Device! To my side, my Decepticons!"

Rodimus Prime ducks low as a stream of machinegun fire comes in his direction, managing to avoid getting tagged, but noticing that the mad inventor wasn't so lucky. Hopefully it was relatively minor. "Keep working, Wheeljack...we'll deal with these party crashers!" Kicking out with one foot, Rodimus dislodged an armored paneling that was originally going to become some part of the interior decorating that Galvatron was worried about earlier. It makes a perfect makeshift shield however, as he holds it up in front of him and quickly darts forward, sparks spraying off of its surface, and the first holes appearing before he proceeds to lunge right on through. Two things happen then, as he suddenly SLAMS down with the panel at Contrail's vehicular form...he then also kicks off, using it as a 'ramp' in effect to get airborne, just at the moment that a certain familiar series of shots are blasting towards Fortress Maximus.

"You might have bit off a bit more than you can chew this time, Galvatron!" Rodimus announces, lunging down with both feet ahead of him as he quite literally moves into a flying dropkick at his nemesis' chestplate.

Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Galvatron but misses Lamborghini Gallardo <Contrail> with his Kickoff and Dropkick! Area attack!

<Autobot> Fortress Maximus says, "Oof. Never enough time to get things right.  Rodimus, I've got a breach over here on my end.  It's Galvatron."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "Tag-team out Max."

Stegosaurus <Snarl> blissfully bounces down the hall, gleefully kicking the head of the unfortunate septicon in front of him. He is unaware of anyone coming up behind him, still singing rather badly, "Me Snarl get to smash things, me Snarl get to smash things!"

<Autobot> Fortress Maximus says, "Copy that, good luck, Rodimus."

There may be a fire fight breaking out, but he's still got to find something he can figure out how to shut this place down with. At least he's able to focus on that matter instead of getting wrapped up in the fighting. He grabs a support pole and slides down it to another level, then ducks back under the platform overhead to try and stay out of sight while he plots his next maneuver.

Wheeljack gahs as some machine-gun shots pelt across his shoulder, forcing the engineer to duck down and press his back against the stone wall briefly to keep his bearings. "I think that means they've caught on to us," he shouts back to Rodimus. He glances back briefly as the gunfire stops, and starts sprinting down the walkway again, dodging and ducking behind random pieces of equipment as he can for cover.

There may be a fire fight breaking out, but he's still got to find something he can figure out how to shut this place down with. At least he's able to focus on that matter instead of getting wrapped up in the fighting. He grabs a support pole and slides down it to another level, then ducks back under the platform overhead to try and stay out of sight while he plots his next maneuver.

** Beep beep beep**

Gasket and Grommet sends out an audible warning as it picks up the approaching presence of multiple Decepticons! Ultimately the early warning that wasn't... well, early enough, as the alert comes in just a few mere seconds before the door at the opposite end of the corridor from Fortress Maximus opens up and Galvatron steps in with a few choices words and a barrage of cannon fire to boot! The purple cannon fire cuts through the half built defensive covers that Fortress Maximus had hastily welded together, one such beam manages to catch the Headmaster commander at the right side of his abdomen. The force of the strike, added with the fact that he wasn't in battle ready posture yet, causes Fortress Maximus to fall back on his behind with a pained expression, "Ooof! Never enough time to do things right."

The Headmaster commander looks down at his wound just in time to see the array of armour plating in the area falling off in the form of molten slag, "I'm sure we'd all do just that Galvatron, after we make sure you don't come back to Earth with that weapon of yours." Fortress Maximus gets up, teeth gritted, and quickly makes his way back to the cavernous room where Wheeljack and Rodimus Prime had been located, "Keep on working, Wheeljack! I've got your back!" With that said, a pair of machine gun batteries emerges from within Fortress Maximus' lower arm armour plating, and begins laying down weapons fire at Contrail!

Combat: Fortress Maximus strikes Lamborghini Gallardo <Contrail> with his Machine Gun Batteries attack!

<Decepticon> Marauder says, "We have a Dinobot heading east down towards section Z13."

The Pax continues to roar past as Trypticon transforms to defend himself, gaining height again as it starts to circle around for another pass.

"Why is it that it takes them -forever- to transform from city mode the first time, then after that they seem to be able to do it a whole lot faster!?" The Captain grumbles, tapping his fingers on his armrests in irritation. "Are we having -any- effect whatsoever?"

"The Torpedo seems to have caused a hole, but I don't know if we can get another volley like that through. It took twelve just to get -one- in there and it's going to take time to reload..."

The Autobot in command grumbles, getting out of his seat and pacing to the side, ironically pausing at the console Amber is supervising and watching her and her readouts carefully. "Well let's keep at it."

The giant ship comes back for another pass again, predictably. Weapons firing heavily as they lay down more energy bolts at the transformed Decepticon battlestation for another low-altitude pass!

"It doesn't have to last forever!" Ultra Magnus shouts back, taking up the fight and answering Cyclonus' charge. The oxidizing laser catches him in the midriff, cutting away into the thick power armor. Just melted armor though, no circuitry or systems in immediate harm. Reeling from the attack however, Magnus goes to a knee and sort of slides to the side.. out of the way.

"All that matters Cyclonus, is that good mechs stood up to you and your kind's tyranny." the City Commander replies, drawing his Ion Blaster. "Where is Galvatron anyways? He usually keeps you on a tight leash." Pulling the trigger on the weapon, at almost point blank range, Magnus braces himself for the recoil.

Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes Cyclonus with his Ion Blaster <Medium Yield> attack!

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "Just keep them busy guys, I need to find a terminal or important piece of machinery or something."

Sideswipe had bailed out of the Orion Pax with the others in the pods, determined to stick close to Ultra Magnus but in the ensuing reentry of the Red Planet, he got off course a little. Transforming down into his Lamborghini mode, he raced off to try and get in close to where the Big Blue was. He had to be there to help cover the others retreat! That was his job, his assignment and be damned if he wasn't going to do it right. Granted, he'd rather be down below, beating the energon snot out of some Con, but hey, there'd probably be plenty of action topside too.

As he drove at a high rate of speed to get in closer, he realized who was battling Ultra Magnus and quickly transforms as he approaches, "WHOA!!! UGLY!!" he yelped as he saw who was battling with his former 'boss'.

The flying kick knocks Galvatron flat, but he wasn't taken entirely by surprise. "Ah, Rodimus! I knew Fortress Maximus wouldn't dare to come here alone!" exclaims Galvatron as he tries to roll with the kick and pull Rodimus down with him in a Judo slam.

Combat: Galvatron misses Rodimus Prime with his Non-Jet Judo attack!

Marauder emerges from the hole in the floor to see a mechanical stegosaurus kicking the severed head from an unfortunate Decepticon warrior. He's no match for Snarl, but fortunately, Snarl will only cause random destruction. He would be amazed if Snarl were capable of premeditated actions. All in all, it's easier to simply let the behemoth wander aimlessly. He heads left, towards a turbolift, and heads towards the surface, hoping to prevent any further intruders, while others can try and deal with the infestation. Down another corridor, and he'll be at the main doors, finding that Trypticon has transformed to its battle station mode. Hugging the wall for cover, he tries to peek out, and see if he can make out any Autobot figures.

Curses, Rodimus Prime's fabled excellent agility has saved him from Contrail's piddly little machine guns! At least Wheeljack got shot. That'll teach him not to come back from the dead. Dead people don't get shot nearly as often as live people do! Her tyres screech as she backs up in a hurry to avoid Rodimus Prime's feet, and she honks in surprise. She is not so lucky in evading Fortress Maximus's machine guns, which rip into her plating. Now that Contrail is out of the tunnels, she does not need the driving speed of her sports car mode quite so much as she could use some heavier weaponry. She transforms and lets her electric whip drop into her hand. Contrail's fingers tighten around the handle, and her optics narrow. The whip is drawn back behind her head and then flung out into the air to try to drag Wheeljack away from his work, because Sportscar Code says she has to fight him (and also because Galvatron gets cranky when people get in the way of his special fighting time with Rodimus Prime).

Combat: Contrail strikes Wheeljack with her Whiplash Whirlwind attack!

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Prime, You've got Shockwave incoming from topside!"

<Autobot> Fortress Maximus says, "By the code, she wields that thing well enough."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime grunts, "Frankly I'm surprised it took him that long. Still, we'll manage somehow. Thanks for the heads up Magnus."

Trypticon isn't seen as very smart, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have his occasional moments of craftiness. So, as the Pax swings back around for another pass, he doesn't revert back to dinosaur mode just yet. Instead, he obligingly rolls forward to meet them, firing away with the wide variety of energy weapons this mode is armed with. He takes a lot of hits from the Pax, armor boiling off of him with each blast, but he takes it in stride. Just a little bit closer...

Cyclonus, meanwhile, might have replied that he's the one who keeps Galvatron on a tight leash if he dared. Instead, he says, "As I said, slaughtering your friends with ease. Just follow the screams." As his enemy raises his weapon, he mentally braces himself for the impact of the Ion Blaster... but when it strikes, he looks down at himself, surprised to see that it didn't do that much damage. "Oh, please, Magnus," Cyclonus growls, looking disappointed. "You can do better than that." He's about to return fire when Sideswipe bumbles in on them. "--you!? Stay out of this, *boy!*" he snaps, and fires at Sideswipe instead, aiming at one of his knees in the hopes of ridding himself of an annoyance as soon as possible.

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Sideswipe with his Oxidizing Laser attack, temporarily impairing Sideswipe's Agility (Cripples)!

Another door in the alien base slides open, revealing another Decepticon for the heroes to deal with. Shockwave storms through, emerging in the hall just outside the device room. This places him in the same area as Fortress Maximus, Galvatron, Rodimus, and Contrail. Peering past the brawling, he can see that the door to the planetary core shaft room is open. An Autobot or one of their human flunkies must have made it past. It's the only reason Rodimus and Maximus would be content to stay here.

"Galvatron, has anyone made it through to the device?" he calls out, even as he rushes towards Fortress Maximus. Attempting to take advantage of Maximus as he tries to deal with Contrail, Shockwave puts his shoulder into trying to knock the Headmaster into the wall. From this vantage point, he can see indeed that Contrail is fighting Wheeljack inside. Well, Shockwave knows what he's going to be doing next.

Combat: Shockwave misses Fortress Maximus with his Bodycheck into the Boards attack!

Rodimus Prime has learned time and time again that momentum sucks, and this is no different as Galvatron proceeds to haul him around in mid-air, using his own momentum against him. It's only with some last second mid-air twisting that Rodimus comes down on his feet, still grappling with Galvatron in the process. A very bad place for -most- Autobots to be...very few actually preferring this sort of posture. Well maybe Grimlock, but he'd be happy even grappling with Devastator.

"Gnnhh, heads up Maximus!" Rodimus calls out, seeing out of the corner of his vision that Shockwave is moving to tackle him, right about when he's forced to come back to the here and now with Galvatron. Bracing his back against the wall behind him Rodimus abruptly raises up both feet and puts them against the Decepticon leader's chest, SHOVING off as hard as he can. "Well you know me, Galvatron..." He grunts with the effort, "...never could resist breaking your toys!"

Combat: Rodimus Prime misses Galvatron with his Ohgawdgetitoff! (Kick) attack!

If Marauder watched a bit longer, he'd have noticed that Snarl heard something. Picking up the decapitated head of the septicon soldier, he starts making his way back down the hall, his thagomizer sweeping back and forth. He notices the strange light that seems to be coming from the floor, and goes to investigate

Sideswipe had planned to stay back out of the way and let Ultra Magnus and Cyclonus duke it out. Heck, he still was but now he was Pissed OFF. "HEY!" He shouted, as he took a shot, stumbling backwards. "OW!" He snarls, "It was the Ugly comment wasn't it. Get em every time." He kept walking backwards somewhat in the direction the shot had staggered him, his eyes scanning the surroundings. He pulls his gun from where he stores it and makes sure his Magnesium Rocket Flares are primed and ready but he keeps his distance from the two battle giants now, watching Ultra Magnus's back more than anything.

Galvatron catches himself against the far wall of the pearly silver corridor without harm, and takes a moment to limber up, cracking his knuckles and neck with a series of metallic pings. "Never could resist putting yourself in harm's way, you mean," Galvatron replies. "Well, I'm happy to oblige!" He lunges at Rodimus, flail reeling out of his wrist socket with a crackling hiss as he tries to bury its spiked ball in the Autobot leader's flame-colored chest!

Wheeljack eventually bolts out from his cover and is going for another section of the walkway, only to fall short as Contrail spots him and snags his leg with her wipe. Resulting in a good solid *THWANG* as he faceplants into the paneling. Good thing he doesn't have a jaw or nose to break. "Knew that wasn't going to last." So much for not being spotted.

With a huff he rolls over on his back and kicks the hip off. "Sorry toots, I don't have time to play around tonight. How about a parting gift." He fires off a shell at her, then bolts to his feet and starts dashing along the catwalks again.

The shell flings through the air towards the Decepticon and should it successfully hit deliver a sensory jarring burst upon impact.

Combat: Wheeljack strikes Contrail with his Gyro Inhibitor attack!

"Hardly, Wheeljack is disabling your devious device as we speak!" Ultra Magnus fires back, growing a bit agitated when the Unicronian infers that Prime and company can't get the job done. If there's been one constant in his career as the second stringer, is that Rodimus rises and overcomes all obstacles. Annnnnnnnnnd then the sudden interruption of Sideswipe!

Smiling, only a little bit, Magnus admires the Autobot's gusto.. who had been his secretary only thirteen cycles ago. Stalking forward, Magnus aims a combination of punches. First a low right gut-punch, then a left cross, and finally a right hook. "Sideswipe, make sure the others are holding their positions!"

Combat: Ultra Magnus misses Cyclonus with his 1-2-3 Magnus Combo! attack!

Fortress Maximus hears the conversation between Galvatron and Rodimus Prime and can't help but smirk, "I'd be a pretty terrible battlefield commander if I decided to waltz into a Decepticon stronghold territory, with Trypticon on the topside, alone without adequate support now, wouldn't I?" The Headmaster commander leaves the leaders of both faction alone to fight their climatic battle, he wouldn't want history to repeat itself by blundering up his assist and causing yet another Prime to get terminated now, would he? Maximus is genre savvy enough to not trip them death flags, no sir.

Unfortunately, Contrail isn't making Fortress Maximus' job easy for him! Well, at least Wheeljack is only getting pulled at and isn't this whole thing isn't being turned potentially awkward yet with the whole whipping between a mech and a femme, "I've got you, Wheeljac" There's a whitish blue glow as Fortress Maximus summons out his master sword from subspace, readying himself to toss his weapon at the Contrail whip to disrupt it, however before he can make good on his words, Galen mentally calls out the impending danger in the form of Shockwave's shoulder ram! "Thanks for the heads up, Rodimus!" Fortress Maximus grunts out as his body moves into action, making a quick sidestep to the right, spinning around to complete the motion with an attempt to slam the hilt of his master sword down at Shockwave's back, "Calculate the odds, Shockwave. It's senseless, a waste of energon, munitions, and lives to protect this site. You Decepticons have already delivered a crippling blow to Earth, why risk your advantage any further?!"

Combat: Fortress Maximus misses Shockwave with his Hilt Strike attack!

Closer and closer the Orion Pax comes to Trypticon, exchanging fire back and forth. The basic strategy is simple, of course...as the shields continue to take a beating, dropping down closer to that halfway mark, the intention being to continue a broadside tradeoff, then move off out of range to let the shields regenerate again. It's textbook and simple and straightforward, isn't it?

That's exactly why it doesn't feel right, the Captain's optics narrowing slightly, "...this is too easy. Hard to port! Emergency bank!" A moment later he's gripping both hands onto Amber's consoles. "Hang on to something!"

And suddenly the Orion Pax is banking HARD to one side, turning in place sharply as it angles to Port. Normally in space this wouldn't be a problem, but in a gravity well like Mars it does upset more than a few things on the ship as it puts every bit of power into suddenly trying to bank away from Trypticon. But was it soon enough?

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "I hate to complain but I've got a bit of unwanted company down here."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "Nnngh. Max and I've got our hands full, literally. Magnus if you got a spare body to spare up there, you may want to send them down to deal with this extra Decepticon. Preferably someone who can just jump into the shaft and join us, cause we need them -now-."

<Autobot> Snarl says, "Me Snarl looking down hole at bunch of septicons! Me gonna jump in on them!"

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "I'll see if I can't spare a body, where's Snarl?"

Galvatron catches himself against the far wall of the pearly silver corridor without harm, and takes a moment to limber up, cracking his knuckles and neck with a series of metallic pings. "Never could resist putting yourself in harm's way, you mean," Galvatron replies. "Well, I'm happy to oblige!" He lunges at Rodimus, flail reeling out of his wrist socket with a crackling hiss as he tries to bury its spiked ball in the Autobot leader's flame-colored chest!

Combat: Galvatron strikes Rodimus Prime with his Crushing Lunge! attack, temporarily affecting Rodimus Prime's Accuracy (Blinded)!

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "Anybody at this point. Hit the Decepticon trying to go all whip-happy on Wheeljack!"

Contrail staggers around like a drunk after being assaulted by Wheeljack's deadly shawarma. She leans against the a support column heavily and tries to get her bearings, but she just can't seem to see or think straight. She even misses the fact Fortress Maximus is... sneaking up on her? (How can he even do that?) And that he is, in turn, being distracted by Shockwave. Contrail feels really, really nauseous, and her back-mounted rifles sling down over her shoulders, belching out acid.

Combat: Contrail's Acid Strike attack on Wheeljack goes wild, but she misses herself with her Acid Strike attack!

Shockwave skids to a halt as Fortress Maximus sidesteps to the right, turning to face the Headmaster. "Earth is not as crippled as you would like me to believe, Fortress Maximus," Shockwave states as he falls into a defensive stance. Behind him is the doorway that leads into the planetary core shaft room. That is where he needs to get in order to deal with Wheeljack. "This site is unquestionable worth the resources to protect. With it, we can prevent Earth from -ever- rebuilding, removing your greatest ally from the equation!"

Fortress Maximus brings the hilt of his master sword down, but Shockwave's already turned around at this point. Bringing his hand up, he catches Maximus's arm as it descends. There's a loud screech of metal on metal as Shockwave tries to out-muscle Fortress Maximus. Both of them have phenomenal strength, and their servos grind violently in the attempt to outdo one another. "If your opinion of this site is so low, Fortress Maximus," Shockwave strains to say, "Then why the full scale assault to destroy it?" Shockwave puts his back into resisting Maximus. It's essentially an arm wrestling contest, with the prize being who gets the Master Sword crashing down on them.

Shockwave might (/might/!) be as strong as Fortress Maximus, but the Headmaster is certainly larger, and that gives him the better leverage. Finally, Shockwave has no choice but to relent, letting go of Maximus's arm and jumping backwards to avoid getting crushed by the hilt. Shockwave's servos wheeze in gratitude for the respite.

Backing up into the planetary core shaft room, the Cyclops sees that Contrail has been disabled by Wheeljack. Taking careful aim to avoid hitting anything vital should this shot miss, Shockwave fires a potent arm blast. It may take a while to clean Wheeljack's remains off the wall, but that's the cost of scientific progress.

Combat: Shockwave strikes Wheeljack with his Arm Cannon Blast attack!

<Autobot> Sideswipe says, "You want Snarl down there or both of us? Right now I'm keeping your exit clear...or hope to."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "If you can see it, Sideswipe, get in on it! Nnngh, alright that's enough. Max, make sure Wheeljack doesn't get -anymore- interference if you gotta shield him with your own body. Leave Galvatron and Shockwave to me!"

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "I don't really care, just get down here and start busting heads."

Cyclonus is satisfied that Sideswipe won't get involved now, little knowing that he may missed the perfect opportunity to repeat history. However, that almost distracted him enough for Magnus to lay the beatdown on him! "Ha!" Cyclonus mocks as he deflects the first punch with a forearm, ducks under the left cross, and finally catches the right hook. "Wheeljack's an incompetent lunatic. He's more apt to blow himself up than anything of ours!" He steadily applies pressure to Magnus's fist. "You are beaten, Magnus, and this? This will be the day where we finally finish the job we started on Junk!"

One might wonder why Cyclonus is engaging Ultra Magnus hand-to-hand, when almost anyone could tell you that that's a dumb idea. Well, fun fact: A Decepticon combat guide was published a while ago, suggesting strategies for defeating various Autobots. Magnus's entry mentions "avoid close combat at all costs." Cyclonus had all copies of the guide confiscated and the author executed for cowardice.

Combat: Cyclonus misses Ultra Magnus with his Putting the Squeeze On (Punch) attack!

"TOO LATE," Trypticon rumbles as he transforms back into dinosaur mode, his parts slamming together loudly as he tries to speed up the process as fast as he can. And then he hurls himself into the sky, remembering the lesson he learned about Mars' lowered gravity, and fires up his jumpjets to propel him further and faster, straight at that annoying space ship. If all goes well, he'll be going feet-first through their weakened shields...

<Autobot> Sideswipe says, "With your permission Ultra Magnus, I'll head on down and bust some heads."

The Decepticon scouts that Marauder had been training in the simulator argue amongst themselves, on what to do. They don't really want to continue training when they can hear a battle is going on above them, but they aren't about to disobey and go and investigate. It's then that the severed head of a Decepticon warrior drops into the hole in the ceiling. Traprat says, "We're all gonna die."

Meanwhile, Marauder ventures out beyond the protection of Trypticon Station's walls. He can see laser fire, Cyclonus, others, but so far, no Autobot that he'd want to pick a fight with. Transforming into his alternate mode one he's on the Martian soil, he decides to make himself a target, firing at the boulders and rocks that covered by some upkicked dirt, assuming that there must be someone or something hiding behind them.

<Autobot> Fortress Maximus says, "Wheeljack! Get ready, I'm going to transfer my shielding over to you."

Rodimus Prime isn't so lucky this time as the flail head comes arcing around and proceeds to crash forcefully into his chestplate, sending spiderweb cracks along the right side of his torso where it made contact, and the head actually imbedding into place. "Nnngh!" His right hand closes around the 'chain' of the flail, sizzling energy sparking over his fingers in the process, but still holding tight as his other hand reaches up to seize onto Galvatron's forearm.

"You love dishing it out, but not taking it." He growls, before abruptly wrenching at the hip and suddenly leaping off, propelling himself along with Galvatron through the air, pushing the Decepticon leader at full velocity towards...

...none other than Shockwave. He's given Maximus his orders at this point. And crazy, crazy Rodimus...with his hands already full with Galvatron is trying to force -Shockwave- into the furious melee with them both as well. Yes, Rodimus is now single handedly trying to take on two of the most powerful Decepticons to ever exist. Is he crazy?

Or is he maybe just maybe trying to dangle an irresistible piece of bait...

Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Shockwave but misses Galvatron with his Making it a three-way pileon! Area attack!

Blocked, damn! Then just as Magnus is about to connect with the hook, it's caught in mid-air. Applying his own pressure, the two struggle against each other's considerable bulks for a moment. "Heh, you wouldn't believe what he can do now." Big Blue grunts, dropping the fist low and attempting to catch Cyclonus' wrist with the other hand.

"As for Junk, I don't think you'll be any more successful than you were THEN!" he muses, swiveling his back around towards Cyclonus.. then throwing his strength downward, attempting to use the Decepticon's own arm as a fulcrum (not the green plane with the hammer kind) to throw him off balance.

Combat: Ultra Magnus strikes Cyclonus with his Jet-Judo Throw! (Punch) attack!

Meanwhile, Greenhorn and company are encountering heavy resistance.. aerial bombardments from flying Sweeps and Seekers alike, they utilize guerilla tactics of stick and move. From cover to cover, they attempt to keep hold of the LZ.

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "Trust me, I could use it."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime grunts like he's straining against a great effort, "...we'll get you the time you need Wheeljack."

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Sideswipe, get down there or holding this LZ will be pointless!"

Imagine the surprise of all those new septicon recruits when a Dinobot drops into the middle of them, carrying the head of a septicon warrior. Needless to say, they do not last long as the Dinobot wades into the multitude

"Ahh Primus I forgot he could jump like that." The Captain grouses, holding on tight, as the other crew members on the bridge do the same.

The Pax was already in mid-turn when Trypticon took to the air, so rather than dead center, his feet come down on the starboard side, impacting straight through the shields and shattering their way through, then hitting the armored bulkhead that had pulled back when the ship transformed earlier. Those gigantic claws find purchase, and battleship-thick steel bends under pressure like it was tinfoil, the entire armored module, a heavy turret and several smaller turrets ripping free like a banana peel in the process. Fortunately for the ship, the engines are located in the back and not the sides, but the whole module still comes free in a tortured shriek of metal tearing loose, followed by more alarm klaxons and a stream of damage reports filtering to the bridge as Trypticon continues to plummet down, taking the entire section with it.

Smoke floats onto the bridge of the Pax, a few fires bursting out here and there, though extinguishers are quickly put into play to put them out.

"Well okay..." The Captain grunts. "...that could have been worse, right?"

Wounded, the Autobot flagship takes a more cautious approach for the moment, climbing for some added height as it assesses the damage.

Fortress Maximus grunts, his optics narrowed, and his face exhibiting signs of strain under the contest of physical might between him and the One-Eyed wonder who managed to catch his arm before he could complete his swing, "Because Mars is too close, and too convenient a choke point for the Decepticons to use against the Terrans to allow them to remain in control of, uncontested." By now, the high pitched protests of Fortress Maximus' servos is getting louder and louder, "We'll always know where Mars is, we just couldn't pull ourselves away from Earth up until now without leaving the planet completely exposed to a sneak attack. There's no hiding on a planet we that you're operating from, so deep within allied space. Us coming here is just to show just how pointless it is for you all to stay here."

Just because Fortress Maximus is doing his battle therapist dig, it doesn't mean that he's unaware of Wheeljack's plight. The moment Shockwave lets go of his arm, the Headmaster commander drops down and grows BIGGER! Until a ship takes his place and soon a cerulean blue forcefield crackles around Wheeljack briefly, indicating that its shielding has been expanded over the Autobot scientist, "Do what you need to do to stay functional and get the job done, Wheeljack!"

Wheeljack takes advantage of Contrail's nauseated confusion to make a break for it and jump up to another platform, hauling himself over the edge and keep running. Until Shockwave blindsides him with a blast and the engineer thuds against the railing, causing it to crumple some as he keeps from falling over the edge. Being nuked like a potato in the microwave was bad enough. "What is this, try to kill Wheeljack again night? I'm flattered, really."

Fortunately Fort Max comes in with some much needed support, and the engineer pushes himself back to his feet. Looks up at the massive shaft hanging in the middle of the chamber. Spots where some of the hacked in Decepticon machinery is connected to it, and follows it back towards one of the upper platforms. Bingo. He gives Maximus a brief salute for the assist, then activates his arm-rockets and launches himself towards that platform.

Though the rockets sputter a few times, preventing him from getting up to full flight speed. Good thing he's got that forcefield for now!

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "I think I spotted something, just keep me covered."

Just as Sideswipe is about to leave cover and head for one of the holes made by the drills, he hears the shots fired and sees the dust kicked up right next to the rock he's taking cover near. Peeking out from around it, he sees the M1A3 Abrams making a target out of himself. "Scrap!" he growls. Looking around, he keys his radio, speaking low. Then with a quick lunge, he transforms on the run and takes off for one of the holes, hoping and praying ot get to it before the tank can swivel around and take a shot off at him. He needs to get down there and help those below!!!

<Autobot> Sideswipe says, "Dammit! Got a potential road block.  Gonna try to get around him.  Magnus, watch out.  There's another Con up here with you guys.  Watch your backs!  I'm outta here!"

Contrail almost splatters acid all over herself, which would have been amazingly embarrassing given all of the high rankers around. As it is, the acid eats a hole in the floor. Contrail looks at the hole for a moment, looking shifty. If anyone asks, she's going to blame scraplets for the hole in the floor. Yes, that's the ticket. Her ailerons prickle as the awesome power of Shockwave scintillates at Wheeljack. Contrail feels pretty glad to be hiding behind this column, that's for sure! Then she realises that if Shockwave is putting forth his Professional Murdering Services towards the cause of putting Wheeljack back in the Autobot mausoleum, that means that Fortress Maximus is, er... unoccupied. Oh, slag it. Contrail charges out from behind the column, cracks out her whip, and hollers like a crazy person, "Hey, canned meat! Nice can opener you got there! Better put it through your lid!"

Of course, Fortress Maximus is a base now, not a dude with a sword, so it makes her insult even more nonsensical, but Contrails has bigger problems than a failure to quip.

Combat: Contrail strikes Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus> with her Whiplash Whirlwind attack!

The Decepticons fight valiantly, but they are no match for a Dinobot. In a few quick moments, the training simulator is littered with very real body parts, strewn about haphazardly. Soon, only Traprat remains, as he ducked, rolled, and dived under the cover of his fallen comrades, pretending to be dead. But he can't help but offer commentary, "Oh primes . . ."

The M1A3 Abrams Main Battle Tank sticks out like a sore thumb in this Martian terrain. Of course, green and purple camouflage would stick out just about everywhere. When the Autobot Warrior emerges, and transforms into a speedy car, Marauder's reaction is simple, but possibly effective. He transforms back into his robot mode, and simply sticks his leg out. If he wants to get past, he's going to have to do it without his windshield.

Combat: Marauder misses Red Lamborghini <Sideswipe> with his Windshield Removal (Kick) attack!

Cyclonus yells in surprise as he is hurled into the air, landing squarely on his back in the Martian dust. "Nnnf. I wouldn't be too sure, Magnus," Cyclonus grunts, staggering up. "Besides, you might recall how well you fared against Decepticon fighters back then." Hurling himself up into the air, Cyclonus transforms into fighter mode and quickly climbs up into the sky. From there, a panicked Sweep radios, <<Cyclonus!!! We can't get a good fix on them, it's like they're everywhere--GYAAAAH!>> And he sighs disdainfully as he watches said Sweep take a rocket and plummet downwards. "Must I do everything?" he laments, coming about, passing over the rocks that the Autobots are darting through, dropping incendiary bombs on them as he goes, and finally dropping a whole heaping of them onto Ultra Magnus! "Burn with them, Magnus! Join their funeral pyre!"

Combat: Starfighter <Cyclonus> misses Ultra Magnus with his Incendiary Bombs attack!

Trypticon falls back down to Mars, followed by wreckage from the Pax, some of which he catches in his maw and shakes around before he carelessly tosses it aside. It might hit someone, might not. The cityformer triumphantly roars, a deafening noise that carries for miles through the barren landscape. But is Trypticon spiking the ball too soon?

Galvatron nimbly rolls off of Shockwave, who helpfully broke his fall, and claps Shockwave on the shoulder firmly. Is Galvatron thanking him for his selfless service? "Hold still a moment, Shockwave." Reassuring him that things will be all right? No, Galvatron's using Shockwave to brace his shooting arm as he lenses down the beam of his cannon to try to fire a shot through Fortress Maximus and into Rodimus Prime behind him.

Combat: Galvatron strikes Rodimus Prime and Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus> with his Braced Penetrator Beam Area attack!

<Autobot> Sideswipe says, "WHOOOHOO...that was a close one! Damn!  I need to come back and pay that Con a courtesy call later.   Ok, so, on my way...who's my first target when I get there?!"

"'Just could not pull yourselves away from Earth until now'," Shockwave quotes. "That is because the Autobots will always seek to safeguard the lives of the fleshlings rather than take the fight to us. All the more reason to launch another technology-destroying attack on Earth. What will your Autobot warriors do, Fortress Maximus, when they have to choose between defending their friends or fighting us?"

Shockwave, now in the centre of the planetary core shaft room, looks up at Wheeljack on the catwalks. He got the scientist, but Wheeljack is still moving and making smartass remarks. This calls for another arm cannon blast. Shockwave takes aim and fires... but this time it deflects harmlessly off of the battlecruiser's forcefield. Shockwave considers this new development, and wonders whether he should try to break through it or just hammer the Headmaster. Before he comes to a decision, Galvatron gets hurled into him, and the pair go flying. But where Galvatron is cushioned by Shockwave's face, Shockwave's face is not so cushioned by Galvatron's elbow.

Slow to rise (especially since /someone/ uses him for support), Shockwave shoots an annoyed look at Galvatron before joining in with the Decepticon Warlord, trying to blast the two top Autobots with arm cannon fire.

Combat: Shockwave strikes Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus> but misses Rodimus Prime with his Full-Auto Area attack!

And then the Martian landscape was covered in.. SPLOSIONS!

But from the blast, on the edges of it's rolling ember flames.. emerges not only one Autobot, but many! Those with the wits about them are charging, led by Ultra Magnus. Greenhorn, Undertow, Wheelie, Cliffjumper, and a dozen other Autobot gumbies. As they charge, all assortments of weapons are held aloft.. aimed squarely at Cyclonus! Rocket launchers, pistols, stun guns, rifles, cannons, heck.. even a slingshot from the orange minibot. "We no get hit, now you're in sh.."

Before Wheelie can finish his rhyme, Ultra Magnus gives the order. "Autobots, return fire!"

Combat: Ultra Magnus misses Starfighter <Cyclonus> with his Autobots Return fire! attack!

Rodimus Prime is caught up in that one-two blast, unfortunately Fortress Maximus getting the worse part of it as he also has to take Shockwave's shot for good measure. Pushed back against the furthest wall, Rodimus gives out a pained grunt with the heavy *THWOOMP* of impact, almost falling for a moment but catching himself a second later. "Wheeljack, I don't mean to put the push on, but whatever you're going to do...do it soon!" Lunging forward at a dead run, Rodimus proceeds to vault up and -over- Fortress Maximus, giving the Headmaster a quick and reassuring, "Hang in there!" Before he lunges in straight at Galvatron faster than any other Autobot should have recovered from such a blast, banking on...-hoping- that he's going to catch the Decepticon leader in those vulnerable moments after he fires. Both hands put together as Rodimus aims a truly tremendous blow of epic proportions in a two-fisted upward swinging punch aimed at Galvatron's chin. Once he threw Galvatron through the side of a planet-sized transformer into space...now he literally aims to punch Galvatron through another wall. "We're not out of this by a long shot, Galvatron!"

Combat: Rodimus Prime strikes Galvatron with his The Touch attack!

The hatch to the sim room opens, and Snarl comes out, covered in energon and soot and smoke, and another head in his mouth, his thagomizer swishing happily. Looking in the room would reveal a massacre of epic nature... Imagine the most horrific scene in a horror movie, then color the blood energon pink...

"What do we do? Another broadside like that and our shields may not hold up."

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." The Captain responds, still leaning on Amber's console...then actually leaning over to look at one of the side readouts on her monitor. "Wait, what's this?"

He indicates an ammunition reserves readout that draws his attention. "We still have some pods left?"

"Yes sir!" Comes the replay from elsewhere, "Enough for a third wave of launches but we didn't have the troopers to man them."

And that's when an idea forms. "We've got to keep Trypticon busy for the extraction, which I hope is soon. Let's see how he likes -this-...full volley, fire all the remaining pods!"

And just like that, the Pax comes around again, unleashing another swarm of 'missiles'. Not torpedoes like before, but puny little missiles...which of course should be of no concern to Trypticon.

Puny little missiles, numerous like a swarm of bees, each tipped with a diamond-reinforced drill bit designed to start burrowing and drilling INTO whatever they make contact with....

Wheeljack is really, really glad he's got the forcefield, but he knows Maximus can only keep it up for so long before he's going to need to defend himself as well. He lands on the platform, stumbling a bit due to a final misfire of his rockets, but catches himself against the terminal. Looks it over a moment.

Looks back down towards where all the Autobots are fighting.

Looks back to the terminal. "No time to do this the fancy way." He thumps an elbow against the side of his back, popping a crowbar out of some compartment, which flips over his head to be caught in his hand. Looks at the machinery again. Kicks open a panel, shoves the crowbar inside, and starts prying loose one of the coupling modules inside. "If I reverse the polarity running through this system on the opposite wavelength, theoretically it should discharge its own emissions through itself instead of projecting them outward." He's really talking to himself at this point. All geniuses do it!

Red Lamborghini <Sideswipe> swerves as the large foot comes flying at him, smooth as glass he is, and lets out a war hoop as he dives for the hole made by one of the drills. He drives nose first down into the hole, transforming as he goes. He hits the bottom of the hole in bi-pedal mode, in his 'hotdogging, cowboy' way and transforms again, off and 'running', so to speak, at full speed down the tunnel, heading for the Bots that called out for some extra help.

It takes a bit but he finally shoots out of the tunnel and into the area where it looks like a....bar brawl, he guesses would be the best phrase to describe the scene. Seeing the femme with the whips, he doesn't even bother to transform. He just aims at full speed for her, attempting to ram her.

Combat: Red Lamborghini <Sideswipe> misses Contrail with his Combat Driving attack!

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "I'm down to sixty three percent troop size Prime, whatever it is Wheeljack intends to do.. he needs to get it in gear!"

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "Working on it!"

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "I found a terminal. Just... well, hey, I'm kinda winging it here. Alien technology and Decepticon shoddy jury-rigging. Unless you -want- me to blow up the entire planet."

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Is that an option?"

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "Worst case scenario!... But seeing as that thing seems to go all the way down to the core..."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "Just get that sequence started that we found! Everything else will fall into place!"

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "...in theory."

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Orion has got its hands full with Trypticon and Cyclonus just decimated half our hold on the surface, we're on borrowed time up here!"

Thankfully this particular area is cavernous, as Fortress Maximus sets down and focuses his shielding around Wheeljack. Suddenly he's assaulted by Contrail's whips, which causes damage against his armoured hide with each and every strike, << Ow, enough of that, kindly back awa" Before he could finish, a power purple beam goes through one side of Fortress Maximus and penetrates out the other, sending molten metal and spraying from the exit wound! The shield that was protecting him shimmers and crackles with blue electrical energy, completely overpowered by the force of Galvatron's cannon. His shields, in its weakened state, offers little resistance to Shockwave's spray of weapons fire which drills blackened holes into the side of Fortress Maximus' hull. Ah, the price of being "popular!"

Fortress Maximus, is usually reserved even when facing bold and deadly foes on the field of combat. It'd be a disservice to say that his reaction to being assaulted from all side is born from a desire for vengeance. No, the stakes are high. A planet, with a people all too similar to his own binary bonded partner, hangs in the balance of his and his comrades' actions in the next few seconds. With the mental urging by Galen, Fortress Maximus' twin barreled mortar launchers emerges from underneath its superstructure. Its laser targeting system begins painting three distinct targets and soon the deafening boom of precise mortar fire follows! "You Decepticons leave me no choice! So be it!"

Amber MacKenzie is *almost* distracted by a radio conversation, but despite the mayhem with Trypticon's attack, the emergency maneuvers, the captain getting a bit too up close and personal, she still keeps her simple little console in line. Though she smiles at the thought of that last wave of pods making an impact...

<Autobot> Fortress Maximus says, "Argh..."

<Autobot> <Autobot> Galen says, "Gah, that hurt. Even I felt that. Maximus might not be able to hold on long, consider the both of us crossing our fingers and hoping you're able to do what you have to do."

Combat: Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus> strikes Galvatron and Contrail but misses Shockwave with his Laser-Guided Mortars Area attack!

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "Working as fast as I can here! I need to do a little reconfiguring for that sequence to work!"

<Autobot> Fortress Maximus says, "Alright. Galen and I will do our best to *grunts* fulfill our duty here."

Marauder's optics follow the Lamborghini, "My, my, you are a quick one" he comments aloud, though no one's left to hear, nor is there an atmosphere, which makes the whole point of conversing somewhat pointless. He follows, observing the hole that Sideswipe just dropped down into. It'll be a tight fit, but he does rotate his railgun so that it's pointed upwards, extends his arms, and flies face first down the tube, carefully trying to negotiate it. As he nears the end, he transforms into his tank mode, which is easy given his current structural positioning. He announces his presence in a hail of automatic weapons fire.

Combat: M1A3 Abrams <Marauder> strikes Red Lamborghini <Sideswipe> with his Hail of Weapons Fire (Laser) attack!

As for the massacre, a few minutes later Traprat emerges, safe and sound, though dripping in the energon of those carcasses he hid beneath. "Phew, that was close."

Flywheels had heard that backup was needed at the underground base on Mars, so he'd made haste there. However, he found himself arriving rather late, as his two components had been stuck in an argument over whether he should answer the call or not. One side of him was eager for battle, while the other was afraid of getting slagged by Fortress Maximus or someone. But, eventually, seeing that they were outnumbered, he'd decided to do the right thing and go knock some Autobot heads.

"Aww, quit leaking lubricants. I'm a soldier first and foremost, this is what I'm supposed to do!"

"Oh yeah like you were you supposed to blow up the space station you're on and almost kill everyone on it like last time?"

"Oh, just can it you dimwitted circuit glitch!"

As the duocon descends from the skies, he spots a bright red Autobot speeding toward a hole leading into the underground base and flies after him, soon finding that he's about to ram Contrail, who is busy assaulting Fortress Maximus' shields. He had to admit to himself, he didn't mind Contrail all that much. She was interesting to talk to. "Hey now, that isn't fair! She wasn't ready!" Flywheels dives at Sideswipe, grabbing the red street vehicle and attempting to drive a foot servo into his engine while pulling him back and away from Contrail.

Combat: Flywheels strikes Red Lamborghini <Sideswipe> with its Foot servo to the engines (Kick) attack!

Starfighter <Cyclonus> watches with satisfaction as the entire landscape burns. <<You see, Sweeps? THAT is how you eradicate *pests.*>> But then the Autobots emerge from the flames, seemingly unharmed! <<You were saying, Cyclonus? Hahaha!>> a Sweep mocks. However, he forgot that the Galvatron Administration is much less tolerant of sass than the Megatron Administration was, and so Cyclonus's reaction is to snap back, <<You DARE!?>> before he quickly decelerates, gets on the Sweep's six, and puts roughly a dozen laser blasts into him. <<AAAAHHHH I'M SORRY-->> the Sweep squeals as he plummets down, taking multiple shots from the Autobots as he falls. <<Pull up! Pull up!>> Cyclonus snaps at the remainder of the Decepticon fighters, and most of them are able to do so and evade the return fire without much harm.

Back to Trypticon, he finally turns his attention back to the Autobot spaceship, snarling as he expects it to attack. And it does, but Trypticon had expected another volley of torpedoes, not this! "HAHA, PUNY MISSILES!" Trypticon bellows, ignoring the swarm as he fires off a few eyebeams at the Orion Pax to try and keep their shields low. It's only a few moments after the missiles impact that Trypticon hunches over, shuddering. "HUURRRGHH... WHAT IS HAPPENING!?" he yells.

Contrail kicks off the ground with the assistance of her anti-gravs and vaults over Sideswipe's ram attempt. Then a mortar shell knocks her out of the air and pastes her into a wall. Her fingers twitch. She coughs up a bit of energon and peels herself off the wall, leaving a few panels behind, stuck to the wall. Contrail mutters in pain, "In the name of slagging Straxus's axe..." However, Marauder and Flywheels have popped out of the woodwork to harass Sideswipe, which means she had better keep at harrying Fortress Maximus to get him to drop the shield so that Shockwave can murder Wheeljack. All she can muster is a weak shot.

Combat: Contrail strikes Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus> with her Zap! (Disruptor) attack!

With a screeching crash of twisted metal Rodimus slams Galvatron straight through a bulkhead and the security door beyond, where the Overlord sails across the bottomless shaft and rebounds off the far side, battered by precisely-aimed mortar shells which burst all around him. He catches himself on one of the catwalks ringing the Device and pulls himself up with some difficulty, still dazed from the impact and the artillery barrage, and finds himself coincidentally among Contrail, Sideswipe and Wheeljack, the red Lambo brother zooming around the Device's framing catwalks. "Come here, you cretin. I have a use for you," Galvatron growls at Sideswipe, reaching for the unsuspecting Autobot to try to seize him and hurl him bodily at Wheeljack!

Combat: Galvatron strikes Wheeljack and Red Lamborghini <Sideswipe> with his Walking Roadblock Area attack!

Combat: Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus>'s forcefield absorbs Galvatron's attack.

<Autobot> Sideswipe says, "WHAT THE FRACK!? You guys didn't tell me I had a target PAINTED ON MY HOOD!!!"

<Autobot> Foxfire says, "Sorry, we meant to tell you earlier."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime grunts, "We're -all- taking a beating Sideswipe. Just hang in there a little longer. Wheeljack's almost done."

Shockwave and Galvatron come under heavy assault from Rodimus and Fortress Maximus. If Shockwave were a nostalgic sort, he'd be reminded of the brawls back on Cybertron with him and Megatron warring against Optimus Prime and Ironhide. As Rodimus lunges for them, Shockwave dives out of the way, leaving Galvatron to his fate. Hitting the ground and twisting, he can see as Rodimus lays an incredible smack down on the Decepticon Warlord. Worse, Fortress Maximus is targeting the area with those mortars. Shockwave remembers those from not too long ago.

Feeling the laser track and target him, Shockwave rises to a kneeling position, taking aim as the mortals begin blazing towards him and the others. Shockwave fires, shooting down each mortal at the mid-way point, causing the cavern to erupt in brilliant red and oranges. As each missile comes for him, Shockwave is slower and slower to shoot them down. They're getting closer, as he can't keep up with the barrage.

Finally, Shockwave takes desperate action, clamping his legs together as he leans forward. His arms, now raised above his head, is attached firmly to the barrel that appears out of subspace. Rather than trying to shoot them down one by one, Shockwave releases a single blast that causes the entire alien base to shudder. The mortars are annihilated and the Decepticon is safe. But the source of the mortars may just have been caught up in the explosion as well.

Combat: Laser Gun <Shockwave> strikes Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus> with his Shoxcannon attack!

<Autobot> Brainstorm says, "If it comforts you Sideswipe, I shall apply a new coat of paint upon your return."

<Autobot> Snarl says, "Me not taking beating! Me Snarl beating septicons right and left!"

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "Hang on just a little longer big guy.."

<Autobot> Sideswipe says, "Sorry guys, didn't realize I dragged in the trash with me too. Damn...next time I'll try sneaking in.  Yesh!"

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "Damn that Shockwave...Max I know I'm expecting a lot of you, but you're going to need to be our ride out of here to the Pax shortly. Just hang on."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "If it helps, I've been saving something for you."

Weaving in and out of combat, Ultra Magnus does his best to keep their ground.. what little of it that's left unrazed, that is. Dishing out a backhand to a growling Sweep, the City Commander swivels around to pick off a charging Elephant tape that almost bowls over Greenhorn. "Cliffjumper, Wheelie.. Sweeper duty!" he orders, giving the cadet a nod of his chin before rejoining the fray. Cliffjumper answers in kind, pulling his Killzooka from subspace and firing on the Sweeps with impunity.

Meanwhile, the Sweep that Cyclonus just shot up crash-lands on Undertow. The resulting explosion is all the proof they need, that things underground SURELY can't be any worse than up here. Can they??

"Alright, I want concentrated laser fire on that squadron to the right." Ultra Magnus points out a barrage of Seekers about to do a flyby. "Keep them off hilter, but don't invest yourself.. stick and move, change cover, adapt and overcome!"

Combat: Ultra Magnus inspires a bunch of gumbie nobodies with.. uhh, inspiring words and stuff!

<Autobot> Foxfire says, "Are you giving him booze, Prime?"

<Autobot> Fortress Maximus sounds garbled, "Ugh. I understand the gravity of my responsibilities, Rodimus.  Galen and I will try to find a way to get the job done intact."

Rodimus Prime would probably pursue Galvatron under other circumstances, try to continue laying down the damage as fast as he could. Make the Decepticon warlord -pay- for not focusing on him and taking it out on the other Autobots. The whole situation is getting a little out of control, but he has to hang on...has to hope that Wheeljack can do what he needs to do...he has to have faith. A lot of this job is faith.

No sooner is the dizzying blast from Shockwave dissipating in the air, than Rodimus is already lunging forward again, leaping up as his hands seize onto the edge of the very holes blown into Maximus' frame, holding tight as Rodimus hefts himself up and over and onto the battlecruiser's hull. "We'll be out of here momentarily Max..." Rodimus does his best to promise, "Hang on. This should help...one of the medical techs made it up special for me. Think of it as a booster shot..." Pulling out a small cube-like device, Rodimus immediately leans over and opens up one of Fortress Maximus' generator ports, popping it inside. In an instant, it dissolves as it enters the 'flash furnace' of the Headmaster's drive section, all but whisked away in an instant as it becomes a part of his 'bloodstream'.

It may not repair any physical damage, but it's like a sudden jolt of Liquid Shwartz to give Maximus that equivalant of an adrenaline boost.

Just as he was about to ram Contrail, he saw her leap upward as he felt a large foot connect with his aft as he was clobbered by a hail of weapons fire. "Rasin Frasin!!!" he said, sounding like Yosemite Sam for a moment. He didn't even get a chance to finish that sentence before he was grabbed by Galvatron and hurled into Wheeljack. As he was flying through the air he began to transform, hoping to minimize the impact or...something. "ACK!!!" was as witty as his comeback got. Plowing into his friend, eh scrambled to get away, "Sorry Wheeljack..." he growled as he then leapt right back into the battle.

Aiming his Magnesium Flares, he fired one off in hopes of blinding Contrail, trying to keep her off of Fortress Maximus. "No one copies my looks and gets away with it honey. I heard about you!" Hey, if you're gonna make yourself a target, might as well do it good. And what better way than going after the opposition’s femme warrior....

Combat: Sideswipe strikes Contrail with his Magnesium Phosphorous Flares attack, temporarily affecting Contrail's Accuracy (Blinded)!

Were the missiles explosive warheads, they might have stood a chance of doing some actual real damage to Trypticon. But all of their room is taken up for storage space for an Autobot soldier and the drill works themselves. Still, outright damage isn't the intent here...

...imagine a hundred tiny insects boring into your skin, trying to inch their way deeper and deeper. And that's exactly what it's like as the missiles pepper across Trypticon's hull and begin to burrow inside. Later on, no doubt, the Constructicons will tsk tsk and note that the damage is superficial at best. And that nothing -really- important was damaged in the process. But to Trypticon it's like a hundred tiny bites all at once, followed by an itching/burrowing....magnified so, so many times.

"We're going to a low orbit and hopefully the others can get to us. Prepare a holding pattern!" The Captain states, leaning wearily against the console as he lets out a sigh, then looks to Amber as if seeing her for the first time. "I hear you're a reporter, or used to be one. I suppose this is the sort of front-line correspondence some journalists only dream of."

Wheeljack crouches down to pick up the removed module, pulls a few wires out of it, and plugs them into different nodes. There, now it's able to transmits on the proper frequency. He shoves it back into the console, slams the compartment shut, and stands back up. "Well, here goes everything." He pulls out a code card, shoves it into a slot, and taps in a command quickly.

He winces slightly at the thud against the forcefield and glances over his shoulder at Sideswipe. "Ooo... sorry dude. Almost done here."

He turns back and slams his fist down on the final activation button.

"Primus I hope this works..."

Stegosaurus <Snarl> understands the concept of go til you break everything, but, he's lost now. At least he has something to amuse him, as he goes back to the training room to grab a spare leg to gnaw on til maybe someone finds him

Amber MacKenzie arches a brow, her attention still on her monitor. "Ecological journalist, sir. I'd normally be screaming over the damage to Mars, but killing Decepticons comes first." It doesn't help much that she had to watch her monitor almost all the time, not that viewscreen. Oh well, it's probably automatically recorded anyway.

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "I hope this works... because I have no idea what that's actually going to do other than possibly back up the entire system..."

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "But that's never stopped me before!"

<Autobot> Wheeljack sounds way too cheerful about this

Power suddenly starts to flow through the devices immediately under Wheeljack's fist. A brief surge of energy that suddenly starts to grow outwards, flowing around all conduits of the alien device. Almost like when it was activated the first time, but now spreading out in a growing aura, even as a holographic display suddenly appears in the middle of the room amongst the battling Autobots and Decepticons.

An alien voice suddenly can be heard, making quick short words even as symbols not unlike shapes mixed with hieroglyphics begin to shift and change in the air. Alien words and alien shapes, but there seems to be -something- familiar to it, as the shapes are consecutively becoming smaller, and smaller, and the alien words more curt.

...it sounds an awful lot like a countdown.

And if that wasn't hint enough, Rodimus' reaction which can be heard by -all- audials should further cement it. "That does it! LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "Darn aliens, I wasn't serious about blowing the planet up!"

<Decepticon> Shockwave says, "Galvatron, the words... I cannot translate it."

Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus> feels his entire superstructure shudder from the strength of his mortars' recoil, dislodging several twisted, loose metal remnants of his armoured hull off, << Disgusting, the amount of violence you've all forced me to resort to. >> Mechanical sounds can be heard just underneath the two mortar launchers as internal systems begins the process of loading in fresh rounds of mortar shells. When the smoke has cleared it becomes obvious that none of his targets has been dealt a decisive, disabling blow, that the Headmaster commander had naively hoped to do.

Soon he's shot at once more by Contrail, who expertly penetrates his failing defenses and causes more damage to his superstructure. However the worst is actually when Shockwave demonstrated sheer skill by shooting down his mortars -AND- had bathed Fortress Maximus with explosive gamma-ray beams just prior to Contrail's attack.

Fortunately, Fortress Maximus doesn't have to discover just how far he will let himself be pushed to the edge tonight. Wheeljack's miracle job, the alien language that sounds eerily like a countdown, and Rodimus Prime's order to retreat strangely enough comes as a salvation for him. He transfers his shields from Wheeljack back to him, as he himself becomes a priority asset to the mission's success since he's the Autobots' only way out! Fortress Maximus fires up his engines and lowers down his boarding ramps, << Sounds like a good time as any to leave this place, all aboard everyone! I'm taking off once we're all on! >>

Contrail is blinded by the light of God and truth and right, and she wanders in the night without direction! Or rather, she's just blinded by Sideswipe, and she ends up staggering around blindly. Contrail gets her foot stuck in the acid-hole from earlier and flails around.

Combat: Contrail strikes Sideswipe with her Epic Flail (Punch) attack!

Starfighter <Cyclonus> observes that the Decepticons' aerial advantage isn't what it's cracked up to be, thanks to accurate shots from the Autobots that connect with several of the fighters. "Decepticons!" Cyclonus commands. "DESCEND, and CHARGE THE ENEMY!"

"But sir!" a seeker pipes up. "That's Ultra Magnus! The Decepticon combat guide says--"

"The author of that *trash* was a coward," Cyclonus snaps back. "And was executed for it! Follow in his steps, or follow ME!"

And so, with a great cry the Decepticon fighters descend, transforming into robot mode and charging right at the Autobots, Cyclonus leading the assault with his sword pointing forward at the enemy. "No mercy!!!" Cyclonus yells before they slam into the Autobots.

Here, a minibot trades punches with a cassetticon. There, Cliffjumper fires at a Sweep, who laughs, "HA! You missed!" before he finally looks down at the fist-sized hole in his chest. "Oh," he says before collapsing. And there, a Junkion riding a horse Junkion cuts down several Decepticons before he's pulled down and run through by a Seeker's sword. It's all very stirring.

"This ends here, Magnus! AAAAHHHH!" Cyclonus bellows as he tries to impale Magnus on his sword.

Combat: Cyclonus misses Ultra Magnus with his Diamond-Boron Carbide Sword attack!

"AARRRGH GET THEM OUT!!" Trypticon screams while the melee rages on below, clawing at his own hide with his tiny little arms. Alas, no one dares approach Trypticon now to help him while he's stomping around blindly.

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "Topside, we're going to be coming up out of the shaft in a moment. There's no time for Maximus to land, so you're going to have jump aboard 'on the run'. Be ready."

<Autobot> Snarl says, "Uh oh... How big boom? Me... Me no sure where at!"

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "Snarl, just transform and smash your way out by flying."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "Just go -up- Snarl. Smash through any walls if you have to along the way. You can fly direct to the Orion Pax."

Galvatron takes a personal moment to recharge his capacitors, energy still low after that shot to the Autobot commanders. He climbs the stairs to the next level, closing in on Wheeljack. "Wheeljack! WHEELJACK! What did you do to my Device?!"

Laser Gun <Shockwave> is satisfied as Rodimus is drawn off Galvatron in order to patch up Fortress Maximus. Hopefully Galvatron is able to disrupt Wheeljack from completing his task, and by 'disrupt' we of course mean 'obliterate'. "Indeed, Fortress Maximus, the amount of violence you've been forced into is remarkable... given that *you* attacked *us*," the floating laser gun points out. As the alien voice is suddenly heard, Shockwave calls out, "Galvatron, I cannot translate their exact meaning, however I suspect this area is going to become considerably less safe in short order!"

Shockwave detects the forcefield as it vanishes from Wheeljack and reappears around the battlecruiser. He knows as well as the Autobots do that the Headmaster Commander is their best ticket out of this hellhole, and so he fires again. This time it's a wide gamma ray burst, trying to irradiate anyone near Fortress Maximus as well.

Combat: Laser Gun <Shockwave> strikes Rodimus Prime and Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus> with his Gamma Ray Burst Area attack!

Combat: Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus>'s forcefield absorbs Laser Gun <Shockwave>'s attack.

Flywheels notices Wheeljack doing something to a terminal and recognizes that probably isn't a good thing. Usually, if the nerd is doing something while his friends are fighting, that meant that they were probably just trying to cover his aft while he got the real work done. And then Galvatron threw Sideswipe at him. Unfortunately, it appeared that the Autobot engineer was protected by Fortress Maximus' shielding. Well...maybe if he could hit that terminal before anything bad happened, he could cause a setback in the Autobots' plans. "I wonder if whatever it's counting down to will go off if I smash that terminal?"

"Oh -no-...not -this- again."

"Eh, it probably won't even do anything, and if it does blow this place to microns, then at least all the slow, terrestrial Autobots will get slagged right along with the slow, terrestrial Decepticons! Which of course neither I nor Contrail are one of them."

"You slagger, you have no idea what any of that even -means-! It could set off something that might send us -all- into oblivion without a chance to escape!"

"And since when has -that- ever stopped me?" He hesitates a little, due to the vehement arguing of his components, but eventually pulls away from Sideswipe, charges his laser weapon and fires at the terminal as he flies toward it. Once he reaches it, he rips out the wires and nodes Wheeljack had placed and drove a fist into the displays and controls.

Rodimus Prime is caught up in the blast of gamma-wave radiation, his vision blurring and turning to static for a few moments as it does all kinds of crazy mojo with his vision. An after-effect blur to his sight makes it hard to pick out some details at a distance, but overall it's nothing compared to what could be about to happen. "Let's go! GO GO GO! No more time, all aboard!" He waves harshly, still perched on Fortress Maximus' outer hull. No time to get inside...he'll just have to hang on for dear life. Not the first time that's happened...nor will it be the last. Either way, Rodimus just holds on tight as the Autobot withdrawal goes in full. Hopefully they didn't just destroy all of Mars in the process, but what other choice did they have?

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "EVERYBODY out. We can't wait any longer. Move it!"

Once the battle is engaged on the ground, it gets even more hectic.. if such a thing were possible! Ramhorn skewers a couple of gumbies on his horn, before running into a wall and getting himself stuck. A couple of Insecticons are picking over what remains are left from the Sweep-Undertow collision. A six-armed Autobot pummels the crap out of three Seekers, and even Wheelie has found himself some sport with a couple of Sharkticons.

Utter chaos.

Between ordering his troops and keeping their foothold on the retreat, Ultra Magnus narrowly avoids getting 'shish-ka-bobbed' by Cyclonus' sword. Heaving his bulk to the side, the City Commander allows the weapon to sink itself into thin air. Wrapping one arm around the sword hand, Ultra Magnus attempts to pry the hilt from Cyclonus' grasp and turn it on him instead! "You are right though.." he muses, trying to bring the sword to bear across Galvatron's whipping boy's chest.

"This does end here!"

Combat: Ultra Magnus misses Cyclonus with his Swordslash not to be confused with Sandslash attack!

Wheeljack turns away from the terminal and dusts his hands off. "Another job well done, if I do say so myse--" He stops and looks up at the holograms as the countdown starts. ".. Didn't see that coming." He turns to the edge of the platform, where a couple of the Decepticon technicians, stirred up (or frightened) by Cyclonus' commands are flying up to the kiosk finally. Looks back as Galvatron lands on the platform as well, and gives a mock salute to the Decepticon commander. "Doing my job, that's what!" He springs a few steps, jumps off the platform, and with an "Comin' through!" steps on the gumbies' heads to use them as a boost to get up far enough to jump off the last one and grab onto one of Maximus' hatchways and pull himself up. "Time to go guys!"

<Decepticon> Shockwave says, "Galvatron, I recommend we evacuate the planetary core room."

The dinobot takes the advice given, transform, start making holes in the roof til he's topside. It takes a bit, working as energetically as possible, using blaster and fist to bash and blast his way skyward

<Decepticon> Galvatron says, "Nnnnn. Very well, Shockwave! Sound the evacuation!"

"Environmental?" The captain Autobot grunts at that, as if unsure how to address it, but then just shrugs his shoulders. "Well guess we're a little out of place here then maybe. Thankfully there isn't much 'environment' to really damage here, other than rearranging the landscape a bit."

"Sir the ground-based forces are pulling out!"

"Alright let's get ready to scoop up them up and get out of here while the getting's good!"

<Decepticon> Shockwave says, "All Decepticons, evacuate the planetary core shaft room."

Galvatron raises his cannon arm and sights down it at Wheeljack. "You're not escaping unscathed this time, Wheeljack! I will kill you AGAIN if I have to!" As the blue and white Autobot rises up the shaft hanging onto Fortress Maximus, Galvatron's brilliant purple blast ascends after him... sealing the doom which Shockwave made!

Combat: Galvatron strikes Wheeljack with his Rue the Day! attack!

<Decepticon> Backfire says, "Haha, you said 'shaft'."

<Decepticon> Contrail says, "...are the Autobots blowing up the universe again? Because I swear, they just tried to do that yesterday."

<Decepticon> Cyclonus says, "What!? Blast! Well, at least we can stop them from retreating! Trypticon, report!"

Sideswipe grinned wide as he blinded Contrail but then yelped as she staggered and backhanded him when she tripped. "Watch it honey." He was about to engage her again when he heard Rodimus' words and smirked, "See ya around sweetheart. Hate to hit and run but ya know how it is...work work work.." And with that, he turned and was determined to protect Rodimus' back...after seeing him take an attack that caused him to stagger some.

<Decepticon> Trypticon reports, "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Gasket and Grommet is the first to make it back to Fortress Maximus, the drones drive across the cavernous room evasively before going up a ramp and dropping down straight into one of the boarding ramps that had been extended. A console lights up beside Galen, who's manning the array of control panels within Fortress Maximus' control tower, and he looks at it briefly before confirming to his partner, "Our drones are back in their bays, Maximus. Still waiting on the others." Shockwave's sweeping attempts at irradiating Fortress Maximus is felt in the form of his shields shimmering a brilliant cerulean blue and crackles against the explosive radioactive energy!

Galen sweeps his left hand across the panel beside him, bringing up status reports, "Looks like our shields are holding fine now, that we don't have to exert additional power output to protect Wheeljack." Several more lights flares up on a side console, prompting Galen to report, "Ok, the Autobots who can't fly are all safely on board, Maximus." His partner comments in agreement, "Then it is time to go."

The battleship's main fusion cannon swivels around and points the tip of its barrel towards the ceiling before a consistent beam of fusion powered photon energy is emitted, drilling a hole large enough for the ship to break through the surface! Before departing, Fortress Maximus replies back to Shockwave, << Strange, your memory banks seems to be short termed. Your forces attacked Mars, this is evidently a response to remove the threat that you all pose. How curious that you attempt to assume the role of a victim. >>

<Autobot> <Autobot> Galen says, "Hang on, we're heading up! Magnus, are you and your mechs ready to extraction?"

The Autobots pull out en masse. Those that are lucky enough to have aerial alternate forms, or the very rare ones who can actually fly in their robot modes make their own way off. Others with some transport capability provide liftoff for their fellows, and Fortress Maximus of course takes his fair share of retreating Autobot warriors in a rather hefty collection that would make Sky Lynx nod knowingly.

The 'countdown' continues, the shapes growing smaller and smaller...the monotone alien voice growing more and more curt with each passing second as both Autobots and Decepticons do their best to vacate the area as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, Flywheel's ripping and tearing at the terminals doesn't seem to have much of an effect...though it does have -one- effect that he may not have counted on and will happen shortly.

The entire area is bathed in a brilliant light; a massive halo of glowing whiteness that encompasses the entire area and even begins to glow upwards, out of the main shaft and into the Martian sky beyond. A blossoming sphere of energy expands outwards, blinding to look at at first...is this the end? Is Mars about to become a drifting asteroid field in the solar system, the remnants of a shattered planet?

The sphere, originating from the core shaft then blossoms brilliantly before shrinking down again, now encompassing the entire core area, and the device within. And -through- the sphere, which has now become a glowing portal...the figures can be seen moving about. Dressed in grey robes, the bulbous heads...the thin arms and fingers.

Greys. The Others. Aliens. The Visitors. Call them what you will...but they are there, in the flesh. Dozens of them. Hundreds of them in fact. They all stand, staring outwards with those grey, featureless eyes. Though they do nothing physical, there is a sense that they are controlling everything as the sphere expands once more, now encompassing the entire shaft and the device within, just as the last of the Decepticons and Autobots get clear. In an instant, the sphere then retracts on itself, swallowing up the entire area, literally carving out a great chunk of Mars' landscape like a giant scoop at work. When the sphere fades out, it and the alien beings....are gone. A large crater is left in its wake...the facility, the device, the shaft...they're gone. Like a giant hand just picked them up and took them.

And Flywheels is gone with them, having literally been at 'ground zero'.

Once he is finished smashing the terminal, Flywheels transforms and flies up and out of the base after the Autobots. "Looks like it's time to split!"

<Decepticon> Contrail says, "...slaggit, if a Duo-Con dies, does that count as one death or two for our survival rate?"

A minute passes. Then another. Then suddenly up on the surface, amidst where all the fighting was taking place, a smaller portal opens up for just a split second.

A dozen of the 'Grey' aliens, with hands joined together, all move in sync as they wind up, and then proceed to literally -toss- Flywheels back out and unceremoniously into the red Martian dirt. Quite literally giving him the 'old heave-ho'.

The small portal proceeds to shrink and disappear with a faint hiss and a pop.

<Decepticon> Shockwave says, "One."

<Decepticon> Contrail says, "Nevermind, the omnipotent space aliens didn't want him, anyway."

<Decepticon> Cyclonus says, "Small surprise, he can barely stand himself."

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "... whoa"

<< If you wish to avoid violence, Fortress Maximus, then all you need to do is lay down your arms and surrender to the Decepticon Empire,>> Shockwave transmits. On the Decepticon broadband he and Galvatron have given the all clear to evacuate. <<You would have your peace, Maximus... through tyranny.>> At least until Shockwave decides to start invading more neutral worlds, which would be about five seconds after the Autobots are vanquished.

As the core shaft begins to glow brighter than it ever has in the past, the laser gun flies after Fortress Maximus... not to pursue and destroy, but merely because it's the quickest way out of here. The greys have returned, and that is ill tiding for those who have been exploiting their technology. The laser gun soars up through the hole Maximus created, making good on his escape just as the facility and the terrain around it vanishes.

<Autobot> Fortress Maximus says, "Good thing we were clear of that."

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "I think the original owners came back for their stuff"

Contrail busies herself with getting her foot unstuck from the hole in the floor. Evacuate? As a hobbyist demolitionist, she understands that when there is vaguely countdown-sounding gibberish and pretty much everyone is running, it is a pretty good idea to also run. Still, she shouts at Sideswipe, "Coward! Hit and run? A /real/ Autobot would exchange insurance information!"

And then omnipotent space aliens show up to reclaim their toys.

...yes, Contrail is definitely getting out of here. She transforms and flees.

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "That...that wasn't what I thought it would be."

<Autobot> Rodimus Prime says, "...but that works. Right?"

<Autobot> Wheeljack says, "No complaints here"

Marauder, it would seem, managed to get himself stuck in the hole that he had chased Sideswipe down. It's one of the many perils of being a plus sized Cybertronian. But after much work, he's managed to free himself enough that he can drive backwards, his tank treads digging into the shaft, and allowing him to climb back up towards the surface, where he transform into his robot mode. With the all clear given to evacuate, he does so, but in a leisurely manner. He simply turns, and walks away.

Wheeljack ends up face down -again- as Galvatron blasts him one last time, this time leaving a big smoking hole in his back as he thuds against Maximus' metal plating.

But to the tyrant's frustration he sits up afterwards, grunting a bit. "If there's one thing I miss about being dead, it's not feeling hurt," he jokes. Then asides to Sideswipe when the Lambo brother rejoins them. "Smart move not sticking around to get her insurance. It's all sold by Swindle anyways."

"My base!" rages Galvatron, kneeling in the smoking bottom of the huge, hemispherical crater the Others left in place of the underground facility they 'collected' into another dimension. "Bring it back! I deserve better than this! I deserve vengeance! NYAAAAAAAAARG!" He slams his fists into the ground, cracking the stone, but it avails him naught.

Cyclonus would have had his own sword sticking out of his chest had he not grabbed Magnus's wrist and pushed back as hard as he could. He just manages to stop the point of his blade from piercing into his chest. "It is, Magnus for--" He finally notices that all of the other Decepticons in the melee are running and flying away. Oh, right. Evacuation. "Well, we'll finish this another time, Magnus! And next you'll not prevail!!!" And he kicks off of Ultra Magnus hurtling himself into the air, transforming and blasting away to escape whatever the aliens are doing.

Eventually, Trypticon finds relief as the pods boring into either run out of fuel or simply grind themselves out of commission just trying to pierce his thick hide. There's a moment of bewilderment as he notices the gaping hole in the landscape. "I DO THAT?" he wonders aloud. Wait, what was he doing? He spots the Orion Pax. "RRR!" He roars a challenge at them, preparing to unleash another salvo on the ship.

"There are ancient artifacts buried on Mars," Amber responds distractedly, trying to do her job, listen to the comms, and answer the Captain at the same time. "We found a burial chamber for some Draconian being a couple months ago. You're right, though, in that ecology isn't a factor here as much as archaeology." Alas, she missed the entire close encounter with the aliens. Darn her attention to her duties!

Galvatron stays crouched in a crushed and despondent posture long enough for a sweep to come up and touch him warily on the shoulder. "My Lord? Shall we- urk!" Galvatron's right hand snatches out and seizes the sweep by the neck, pins it to the ground, then blows its head off with the cannon on that arm.

"Nyaaaaaarg!" he yells again, firing indiscriminately into the crater, and then into the sky at the retreating Autobots.

Starfighter <Cyclonus> somehow feels like someone walked over his grave, then brushes the feeling off.

"Just think of it as old times relived, I guess. Though I suppose Megatron used to do less screaming at the time..." Rodimus offers, relieved that Wheeljack made it back in one piece. Relatively speaking. As Fort Max continues to rise upwards, Rodimus gestures for any last ground based Autobots to get aboard while the getting's good.

As the portal opens up and reveals the original owners returned to claim what is theirs, he can only stare, and blink a few times...standing up fully on Maximus' hull to watch as a huge section of the dirt is literally carved out and taken away, along with the facility and the devices themselves.

"Well that wasn't...what I thought it would be." He states quietly, then noting the impending temper tantrum in the crater below. "Let's get while the getting's good, Max. We'll rendezvous with the Orion Pax in orbit."

Amid the confusion, explosions, shots fired, evacuations, and general hoo-hah.. Ultra Magnus finds himself holding the last line of defense between the emerging Decepticons and his Autobot allies. "Greenhorn, get Cliffjumper and the others on the shuttle!" he orders, grunting out loud when Cyclonus uses him as a springboard to flip into the air and retreat.

Firing off a salvo of false-blasts meant to keep the Decepticons ducking, Ultra Magnus and the other soldiers CONVIENTLY enter Cosmos thanks to the animators remembering: 1) That the Autobots have another space-capable robot and 2) That sizes are more of a guideline, not official rule.

And indeed the Orion Pax is already starting to climb away, to deny Trypticon that attempt at a final shot for good measure. Well maybe Trypticon can at least keep thinking he blew the hole in the ground and everything around it for good measure. He can be satisfied he blew -something- up, right?

On board, the bridge crew settles down into a more 'normal' routine, as the captain takes his chair again. "Well I imagine there's going to be quite a bit of pouring over the sensor logs of -that- 'ancient artifact' later." The muses coyly, idly stroking his metal beard.

<Autobot> Fortress Maximus says, "We're breaking atmosphere in the next 15 seconds, transmitting our projected coordinates to the Orion Pax for rendezvous pick up now."

Sideswipe simply keeps up with everyone else, sometimes playing rear guard, sometimes just being in the middle. He doesn't care. He's a bit dented up at the moment. Others are worse off and if they need help, he offers it, helping to carry any wounded to expedite their exit.

Starfighter <Cyclonus>, eventually, lands at the edge of the gaping hole, noticing Galvatron down at the bottom of it. He almost goes down there to join him, but then he sees what's left of the last guy who did that. Soon, Cyclonus is joined by another Sweep, who looks at him as if for guidance. "Ahem, Bloodtalon, hold here and make sure the Autobots don't try to attack Galvatron while he's unawares," Cyclonus instructs. "When Galvatron wishes to return to base, escort him there." The Sweep salutes with a "Yes sir!"

Cyclonus walks away from him. "Better you than me," Cyclonus mutters under his breath.

<Autobot> Ultra Magnus says, "Likewise, transmitting coordinates for pickup.. I'm sure Cosmos doesn't relish heaving all of us back to Earth."

Snarl brought his 'ball' with him, the septicon's expression of shock and fear before his head was liberated from his body... He pads up to the command deck, sits down and starts nosing around the head.

Interstellar Battleship <Fortress Maximus> channels more power into his main engines until enough thrust is achieved to break orbit and onwards towards the rendezvous coordinates the had transmitted to the Autobot's flagship, << We should see them anyti--- there they are. >> The battleship turns around and begins cruising its way towards the Orion Pax's open landing bay, although with the amount of damage it had sustained tonight, it's more akin to limping its way back.

Galvatron finally runs out of capacitor power again and has to walk back up out of the crater, stalking silently through the Decepticons who evacuated the alien base before it was taken away. "Cyclonus, go bring Trypticon back down here. I need somewhere to plan our next move."

Flywheels umpfs as he is tossed unceremoniously out onto the reddish terrain outside by the strange aliens. He stands up, grinning and dusting himself off. "Hey, see now that wasn't so bad, was it!"

"Not so bad? I almost got -pulverized-!"

"Naw, I'm not even scratched, see? I even did a good number on that red one." He waves to the strange beings as they retreated back toward the portal they'd come from. "Thanks -so- much for the lift guys, though I could have flown out myself just fine. Still appreciated, though you didn't have to throw me." One can't really be sure if he's being completely sarcastic or not at this point. He then transforms and takes off after the others, leaving the base--or what's left of it--behind.

Cyclonus stops. Oh, okay, then. He nods to Galvatron, then, turning to Trypticon, bellows, "Trypticon! Forget them, and stop your bellyaching! Get over here and revert to city mode!"

Trypticon makes an annoyed grunt before he complies, stomping over and expanding into the sprawl of his city mode.

============================== Autobot =============================== Message: 3/75                     Posted        Author Mars: Success                     Mon Jul 02    Rodimus Prime

Rodimus Prime on screen, reporting from the bridge of the Orion Pax, which looks like it's undergone some damage control. Rodimus himself looks like he's gone a few rounds with Galvatron given the blackened scorch marks and spiderweb fracture on his chestplate.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush. We did it. It didn't quite turn exactly as we -thought- it would, but we still managed to neutralize that device that the Decepticons used to short out all of Earth's electronic equipment. An assault was led on the Decepticon installation, using specialized drop pods with drill devices to allow us to burrow down to where we needed to be to make a proper assault on the alien machinery. Meanwhile the Orion Pax got into a trade of fire with Trypticon to keep him busy, taking some serious damage in the process but coming away in one piece, relatively speaking. Heavy repairs are still going to be required."

Rodimus glances briefly off to the side, then back to the camera.

"We...thought that we had discovered a self destruct device in the machine, but it turned out that it was actually some kind of homing beacon. Some sort of portal opened up and what I -believe- were the device's original owners appeared to all of us, before abruptly taking the device, and the entire facility as well as a chunk of Mars landscape back with them. In the end, I suppose it's just as well as this means the machine is now out of the hands of the Decepticons and they can't do any more harm with it. As to whether the original builders are benevolent or not...well I guess we're in no position to know right now. Maybe someday we will. In the end, the device was neutralized, and though a lot of good Autobots were injured and some were lost tonight, we came through for a population of billions of humans who were counting on us to succeed. The Decepticons won't be able to cause the mass damage that they did again anytime soon, and that's what matters right now. Everyone did an excellent job and I’m proud of you all. Get the rest and repairs you need, because you've well earned it."

* Blip*