Steelhaven, Found And Lost

Summary: The Decepticons, under the command of the sadistic Scorponok, launch a two-pronged strike against the Steelhaven. The account follows the battle in the Steelhaven's command deck.

Demascus Anomaly

Your sensors make you instantly aware of the strange curve of space here, where it dramatically spirals into some kind of unstable wormhole. The gravity here is obvious, and requires an obvious effort to defy. Space debris and small asteroids flow into it and disappear in flashes of light. Even the light curves and shoots into the spiraling maw

Contents:

Ape &lt;Apeface&gt;

Snapdragon

Decepticon Shuttle &lt;Astrotrain&gt;

Autobot Shuttle &lt;Ol' Rusty&gt;

Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;

Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;

Obvious exits: Above Plane &lt;AP&gt; leads to Lithone System. Spinward &lt;S&gt; leads to Deep Space - Subplanar.

Outside, Snapdragon picks a blob of grease out from between his fingers, wiping it off on the interior walls of Astrotrain, who has apparantly been bullied into providing free transportation for the pair of Horrorcons. "Come ON Astrotrain! We haven't got all day! Can't this bucket of bolts fly any faster?" He asks, knowing full-well Astrotrain IS the bucket of bolts. "If we're LATE, YOU'RE dinner."

Outside, Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; paces back and forth from within Astrotrain. Occasionally he stops long enough to punch his two awesome ape fists together just so that he looks threatening to anyone who might be spying on them. Watching their actions from afar, as it were. Observing, gaining entertaining from their advantures while in the comforts of their own living room, if you will. Anyhow, Apeface sneers, "Maybe we have too much weight aboard! Haw haw haw haw!!"

Outside, Decepticon Shuttle &lt;Astrotrain&gt; probably wasn't so much bullied into transporting the two Horrorcons as told flat-out by some higher muckity-muck to do it or else his molecules would be rearranged into a much more 'efficient' configuration. Astrotrain likes his molecules just the way they are, thank you very much. But it certainly doesn't mean he can't complain the whole time. The little blinking light on his cockpit computer winks in time with his voice, "We could find out soon enough if you two don't keep it down!" He snarls in response, then pauses as his sensors pick up...something on his interior walls, "OH SLAG! Did you just put that there!? You are SO going to get it...." Astrotrain can't perceive why anyone would do such a cruel thing to him as make him transport these two? What did he ever do wrong? A loveable old softy like him.

Outside, The sad truth of the matter is they probably did it to get rid of all three for awhile.

Outside, "You mean MASS, Apeface." Snapdragon retorts, flicking gooey bits of grease like a grubby child might flick boogers. "We're in space, we're actually weightless." Snapdragon isn't as dumb as many 'cons think. He's just to lazy to use his impressive brain for anything but new ways to be lazy. "And is this junky old transport even so much as THINKS of jettisoning ANYBODY, We'll make sure HE never makes it back to Cybertron. Not in one piece, anyway. He wipes off some more greasy sludge onto Astrotrain's cockpit instrumentation, just for fun.

Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;

Before you hangs the Autobot Heavy Cruiser known as the Steelhaven. Shaped more like an ornate spire than a ship, this lance-shaped starship blasts through space with the help of the huge booster engine affixed to the back. Due to the design it is more suited to space flight, though it can handle atmospheric landings due to small tripod legs that can unfurl out. Only moderately armed, its main advantage is the extreme speeds it can reach, getting to scenes of trouble quickly to deal with what may lie ahead.

Nightbeat boards Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;.

Steelhaven - Hangar Bay

=
=================[ The Steelhaven ]==============================

The hangar bay of the Steelhaven is moderately sized, having room enough for several Autobot shuttles. A huge pair of airlock doors are inset against the wall, enabling either shuttle launchers or for Autobots to leap out into space. From the walls comes the loud humming of the powerful starship drive.

--

External ship broadcasts for this room are ON         Type +shiphelp for help

This is a ship entrance/exit room. Use the AIRLOCK command to leave the ship for it's current location: Demascus Anomaly

--

Obvious exits: North &lt;N&gt; leads to Steelhaven - Laboratory.

From Outside: Nightbeat has left.

From Outside: Nightbeat has left.

From Outside: Nightbeat boards Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;.

Autobot Shuttle &lt;Ol' Rusty&gt; has arrived.

[Commercial Break]

Steelhaven - Command Deck

=
================= [The Steelhaven ]==============================

The command deck is sterile and businesslike. Monitors are dotted around showing various vistas, and the room is divided into various command pods, each semicircular and covered in controls. The ceiling is lined with strip-lighting to give the room a very bright, white look.

--

External ship broadcasts for this room are ON         Type +shiphelp for help

--

Contents:

Pointblank

Brainstorm

Sureshot

Highbrow

Hardhead

Fortress Maximus

Obvious exits: South &lt;S&gt; leads to Steelhaven - Laboratory.

Chromedome has arrived.

"Hardhead's right," Pointblank says without looking over. His tone is almost sullen -- that of a robot burned one too many times. He doesn't elaborate on his point, however, just resumes maintaining the shields.

Brainstorm sighs wistfully. "As much as I hate to admit it, Maximus, Hardhead is right. We don't know what's on the other side. We don't know if the probe will even survive long enough to enter the Wormhole!" He watches the probe grow more and more distant. "Hm. Maybe if there was some sort of gravitic shield we could use..."

Sureshot stretches his legs and shrug. He's not so peaceloving as his companions - in peace time, he'll show off in sharp-shooter competetions, in war, on the battlefield - so the prospect of escaping Scorponok doesn't quite delight him as much as it does the others. Neither is he a very dedicated to the cause, or else he might question running off and leaving the rest of the galaxy to fend for itself against the monster. So all he has to say is, "If you say so."

Chromedome is in the back, programming something!

Nightbeat is off on the hunt again. He does so love the thrill of the chase. However, he is being pursued, and he can't shake it. He can only hope that he reaches the Steelhaven, the fabled lost Autobot battlecruiser, before the Decepticons do. Even getting a lead on it was pain - the thing's been gone longer than many Transformers have been alive these days, but he managed it by calibrating boxes of Girl Scout cookies - Thin Mint, of course - in the shape of a secret Masonic symbol to create a resonance device that could track the ion emissions of a spaceship whose exact specs have been lost to time on Cybertron. If anyone asks, he'll say 'intuition,' though. It sounds less crazy.

At last, the ever-curious detective has found her, the Steelhaven! But is he too late? A quick docking, and he runs through the battlecruiser, looking for any sign of Autobots, and... "Oh. Hello?"

From Outside: Like a bird of prey stalking its target, the Hellbender moves to silent running, the mottled grey and brown armour making it look more like a misshapen asteroid as it uses momentum and the interference brought about from the anomaly to get closer to the Steelhaven....

Fortress Maximus folds his arms over his blocky chest, lowering his helmet in humility. "Of course, Hardhead. We must remain practical as always if we are to continue to survive. But it's important to always remember why we are so far from home -- to never give up on our dream of peace. One day, we will find a place far away from our species' pointless and repetitive war. All of us--" He gives Sureshot to a look, to make sure the Sharpshooter knows he's included in this statement, "Will be able to use our talents towards more productive ends than mere survival. Perhaps we will even make contact with our brothers and sisters on Cybertron some day... But only when we are both ready."

Brainstorm's idea is given a considerate glance from Fortress Maximus. "You may be on to something, Brainstorm. Once the probe returns its data, work with Pointblank to reconfigure our shields. It may be possible our hopes aren't so far-fetched after all..."

From Outside: Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt; continues to slowly orbit the wormhole, no doubt awaiting the arrival of information from its probe. Another Autobot shuttle has recently entered its docking bay, as well -- perhaps the Autobots are slightly distracted, not devoting all of their attentions to spotting stealthy Decepticon war cruisers?

Over the shipwide com, Fixit announces, "Sorry to bother you, but we have a new visitor on board..." Hardhead perks... well, raises his head in curiousity anyway. "A visitor? What in Pump-Twice's fuel depot?!"

Brainstorm nods his head, examining the data. "Yes, sir. Hm, lost contact with the probe. That's no cause for alarm, yet, though. I programmed it to return after a while." He looks up as someone unfamiliar steps onto the bridge. "Hey, uh, could you help tighten our sensor scans? Thanks." Then he looks down as he resumes his work, as if there's nothing out of the ordinary.

Sureshot returns his commander's look, optics half-lidded, and even adds a shrug for good measure. His talents have peace time uses. Generally involved in winning competitions. He glances up as the new arrival steps onto the bridge, and snorts.

"Looks like that contact with our 'brothers and sisters on Cybertron' is coming a bit sooner than scheduled."

From Outside: K-THUNK! The Hellbender lurches out of the shadows of space, towards the Steelhaven like a beast hungry for its prey. Acid jets start to blast from its underside and each of the four 'legs' of the ship blast out as grappling hooks to reel the Autobot cruiser in, the guns of the warship opening fire taking no heed from damage from recoil. This is war. And then a small hatch on the side of the Hellbender opens up....

Nightbeat runs into a ludicrously tiny ambulance, who helpfully and cheerily directs him to where he might find the rest of the crew. The detective looks somewhat bedraggled and wide-opticed, and his Earth mode parts may look strange to this lost crew, and... wait, what? Nightbeat hold a hand of the side of his head and then protests, as he is handed a random sensor scan calibration duty, "Look, forget sensor scans! I'm real glad I found you guys, but I was followed -" he cuts off as the Hellbender comes into view.

Misfire has arrived.

"Huh." Pointblank lets out only that nonchalant expression as the shield console starts going crazy. With surprising calmness -- but a subtle force to his tone, he announces, "Sub-particle shield-scrambler effects on their weapons. They punched clean through. Maximus, we're in trouble." Pointblank begins punching buttons and pulling levers. "Going to try to activate backup--"

And then, the console explodes, sending him across the bridge, like a third-rate Star Trek stuntman in a shower of sparks. He lands, groaning, apparently out of it for the moment -- warning lights announce that shield integrity has indeed been direly compromised.

From Outside: Snapdragon has arrived.

From Outside: Snapdragon arrives from Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

From Outside: Triggerhappy has arrived.

From Outside: Triggerhappy arrives from Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

From Outside: Snapdragon transforms into a filthy, filthy space-jet.

In an instant, Sureshot has straightened and his fingers are flying over the controls. He reports, "Opening fire," a statement rather than a question.

From Outside: Mindwipe has arrived.

From Outside: Mindwipe arrives from Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

From Outside: The giant bat turns into the Decepticon Mindwipe. Who would have thought that a giant robot bat was really a Transformer?

From Outside: Scorponok has arrived.

From Outside: Scorponok arrives from Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

From Outside: Scorponok unfurls into his gigantic battlestation mode.

From Outside: Astrotrain has arrived.

From Outside: Astrotrain arrives from Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

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

From Outside: Combat: Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt; misses Decepticon Heavy Warship Hellbender with its Point-Defense Lasers attack!

From Outside: Jet roars out of the Hellbender, engines revving at maximum speed as he tears into space. He was ready to shoot the crap out of something, yeah he was! Fire! Fire! Kill it aaaaaall!

The Decepticon jet rolls like a very, very deadly puppy.

From Outside: Apeface has arrived.

From Outside: Apeface arrives from Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

Sureshot growls softly. "I hate this ship's blasted targeting system."

From Outside: Apeface transforms into jet mode.

Even the sturdy form of Fortress Maximus has to take a step forward to stay standing as a blast shakes the entire bridge of the Steelhaven. He snaps a quick look over his shoulder at Nightbeat, sizing up the Terran-form Autobot with a brief scowl. "You shouldn't have come here," he gives in greeting, before turning his attentions to the main viewscreen. "The Decepticons must have used the wormhole to mask their ion trails... Getting in through our sensor screens. Sureshot, power up the main weapons. Pointblank, see what you can do about the shields -- everyone else--"

Fortress Maximus summons his Master Sword with a flash of subspace energy, hefting the giant blade in one hand. "Prepare for boarding!" It was only a couple of seconds. Scorponok said get in, and then BAM! Next thing you know, Misfire has a one-way ticket to his destination: horrible pain.

CRASH

The pink Targetmaster goes careening through the Steelhaven's command deck window and lands on the floor with a thump.

From Outside: Filthy Spacejet &lt;Snapdragon&gt; thunders out of the Hellbender, bits of grease and flakes of shedding armor falling away into the vacuum of space. The long jet with the huge thrusters barrles towards the Steelhaven recklessly, blasting off bright purple bolts of energy from his Gyro-guns.

From Outside: As the two large battleships exchange fire, from the Hellbender's airlock comes another form, as Scorponok shifts into his space-faring battlestation mode, engines strafing over the Steelhaven as he heads towards the hole in the front that he made using Misfire. "Come out come out Maximus!" the battlestation roars. "We all must die sometime!"

From Outside: Combat: Filthy Spacejet &lt;Snapdragon&gt; misses Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt; with his Gyro-Guns (Laser) attack!

Brainstorm's fingers fly across his console. "But the probe could return--oh, damn," He sighs as he pulls himself away. Can't ignore a direct order, after all. And, besides, he has a wounded comrade to worry about. He runs over to Pointblank, and tries to help him up. "Are you alright?"

From Outside: Decepticon Shuttle &lt;Astrotrain&gt; rockets out of the airlock with the other Decepticons! Who cares if most of them are ones he's never met, or doesn't remember meeting!? They're gonna shoot up some Autobots! "Yeah! Come on out uh....you Bots! We're gonna blast ya!" His undercarriage lasers unleash a few blasts towards the Steelhaven, as his shuttle form slowly rolls back perpendicular to Scorponok's battlestation mode, "Uh, sorry I don't know the names of who we're supposed to be shootin yet."

From Outside: Cybertronian Jet &lt;Apeface&gt; bursts out of the Hellbender just after Snapdragon. He does a happy monkey barrel roll as he charges straight towards the Steelhaven, firing all his guns at the Autobot ship. Oh that's right. Apeface doesn't *have* any guns in jet mode. Nevertheless, he is flying towards the Autobots in a very threatening manner. Perhaps he is planning on ramming it? Either way, he uses his monkey-fu to evade the massive broadsides being exchanged between the two space titans. &lt;&lt;Auuuuuuutobots!&gt;&gt; He transmits. &lt;&lt;Come out and play!!&gt;&gt;

When told he shouldn't have come here, Nightbeat snaps, "I just can't resist a cold case. What can I say?" He's a sucker for forbidden knowledge, for jumping over every fence that says, 'no trespassing'. Then all chaos breaks loose on the deck, and the cool-headed detective does what he always does - draws his sidearm and looks where to point it.

Hardhead snarls as the rocking of the ship sends him stumbling into a wall. The wall suffers the denting. Hardhead regains his footing and grits, "Alright maggots, you heard the commander. Arms at ready." Looks like he picked the wrong day to quit holding back hopeful thoughts. His shoulder mount swivels down slightly and warms for the first time in a long time. His shatterblasters are drawn. "That includes you too, new-guy!" Yup, the herald of this doom Nightbeat is being addressed.

Misfire scrambles up onto his feet, chunks of window jutting out all over his body from the impact. After a few seconds of dizzy wobbling and steadying himself, Misfire pulls his gun out and points it everywhere, "Hnn...Back off! I'm a college graduate!"

From Outside: Snapdragon has left.

"What in the name of--" Fortress Maximus doesn't even have time for a proper curse when the main viewscreen explodes in a shower of glass, sparks and flame, a Decepticon boarder tumbling onto the bridge. Fortress Maximus charges forward without hesitating, reaching out with a massive blue gauntlet and trying to pin Misfire against a bulkhead, trying to prevent his spasm of fire from hitting any of his comrades.

"Hardhead, take Chromedome and Sureshot down to the airlock! I'll keep the bridge secure! GO!" He barks.

Snapdragon has arrived.

From Outside: Triggerhappy has left.

Combat: Fortress Maximus misses Misfire with his Grab attack!

From Outside: Scorponok has left.

From Outside: Astrotrain has left.

Nightbeat, for some reason, has a really bad feeling about that tank-looking fellow, but he can't say why. It's just a feeling in his gut, and Nightbeat trusts his gut. A good detective should. He grumbles, "The name's Nightbeat." He points his photon pistol at Misfire and asks coolly, "Are you? Because you're about to be schooled."

From Outside: Mindwipe has left.

Astrotrain has arrived.

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

"My arms are /always/ at the ready," Sureshot snorts at Hardhead's command. "This ship," and here he slaps the side of his console, "is a case of too little, too late, though." With the next batch of orders, he gives a single, sharp nod, puts the controls on autofire, and bolts towards the door, heading for the airlock.

Sureshot has left.

Hardhead makes rack-chack noises as his ammo loads and heavy clomp-clomping noises as his feet start to run to the bridge exit. "Right... LETS MOVE IT! MOVE MOVE MOVE!" He keeps Sureshot and Chromedome in view as he goes.

Chromedome has to be jerked from his console physically, tapping in a last few presses before scurrying after Sureshot and Hardhead, "I will defend it with my life!"

Hardhead has left.

Chromedome has left.

Oh God, what is this? Why is everyone trying to kill him? Sure he just rudely intruded into their ship on a missile, but c'mon! You can't hold that against a guy!

"Shitshitshit," Misfire hisses as he narrowly avoids getting pinned by Fortress Maximus' massive hands. He presses himself against a console and raises his pistol in the air, "Ha ha! It is /you/ who is going to be getting the schooling!" Pew pew. He fires at Nightbeat! Let's hope he actually hits him.

Combat: Misfire misses Nightbeat with its Pistol attack!

Combat: Misfire (Misfire) used "Pistol": A Level 1 RANGED attack.

"Huff," Pointblank grunts as Brainstorm helps him to his feet, exhaling a cloud of smoke through oral vent passages. "Been better." Pulling free, he reaches over for an IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK SONIC FORCEFIELD chamber, smashing it with the attached tuning fork in order to dissipate the protective frequency. From it he emerges the peace-loving Autobot's most distasteful instrument: a space laser. "Okay," he says, "Let's do this, if we're doing it."

"Move it or lose it, loser!" Astrotrain howls towards Snapdragon, his huge shuttle form suddenly rocketing past the other triplechanger in short order. Maybe it's a desire to show up Snapdragon in some form, or maybe Astrotrain really just likes the idea of blowing the crap out of Autobots he doesn't even know! "Let's see you do THIS!" And with enough momentum built up, Astrotrain transforms into his heavy locomotive form, hurtling straight at the hole made by Misfire a few moments ago... With a heavy *BWOOM* and a torturous shriek of metal being torn away, Astrotrain demonstrates just why he doesn't fear ANYTHING that gets in the way of his locomotive form as he comes -right- on through. "GANGWAY!"

Spinning and shifting parts result in Astotrain's heavy locomotive form taking shape.

From Outside: Apeface has left.

Apeface has arrived.

From outside the Steelhaven, a particularly dirty jet flies through the hole made by Astrotrain's tumultuous entrance, clipping his stubby wings as he crashes through, widening the hole even further. The jet's lights flash, and Snapdragon's gruff voice can be heard. "So many tiny Autobots, so little time! Let's see, who wants to get killed first?" He emits, wildly firing lasers from his nosecone around the bridge of the ship.

Apeface transforms into ape mode.

Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; bursts in along with Snapdragon and Astrotrain. "Yeah!" he shouts, either confirming what either of his fellow Decepticons said. "Scorponok's told us to give you a message... a message in BEATINGS! Haw haw haw!" As soon as they're in through the hole, Apeface shifts into his ape mode for some monkey action. He starts looking around for something to grab so he can start throwing stuff at Autobots.

Nightbeat doesn't even need to dodge with his keen detective senses. He just keeps standing exactly where he is standing, and the pink jet misses. He boggles a bit at the terrible display of non-aim. Nightbeat tilts his head to the side and suggests, "Uh, back to class for you, bucko." However, Nightbeat decides that there are bigger worries here, like the fighting flower Snapdragon, the ape of disgrace Apeface, and the train running off the tracks Astrotrain. Bam. He pops off a shot at Snapdragon, somewhat arbitrarily.

Combat: Nightbeat misses Filthy Spacejet &lt;Snapdragon&gt; with his Photon Pistol attack! [Pulled -1]

Combat: Gained 1 energon.

Fortress Maximus rises back up to his full height after his lunging attempt to grab Misfire goes awry -- slippery Decepticon that he is. "Enough," he states, his deep voice clear even over the chaos of multiple Decepticons penetrating the bridge. "This is as you get, Decepticons."

Fortress Maximus leaps back, his boxy limbs swiveling and reshaping, his form expanding to fill a substantial portion of the bridge with towers, barricades and ramps. "Autobots! Take cover!" Out of one of his opening bay doors comes a smaller drone robot, Cog, wielding a laser pistol in hand. Taking cover behind one of Fortress Maximus' ramparts, he draws a bead on Apeface and unleashes a blast.

Fortress Maximus transforms into his Fortress mode.

Brainstorm giggles to himself a bit, in spite of the threat of impending doom. Replacing all the glass cases with sonic barriers was his brilliant idea. "Great! Glad you're ok! Now let's kick those Decepticons back--gah!" More Decepticons burst in, particularly Astrotrain, who smashes an even bigger hole through the viewscreen, and forcing Brainstorm to duck as shards fly about the room. "Holy moly!" Peering up over Pointblank's console, he stares at the boarders. "Wow, I don't recognize you guys! What kind of alternate modes are those?" He points at Astrotrain, in particular. "Yours looks so... primitive!" Sighing, a photon rifle appears in his hand. "Maybe I'll never find out." He takes a shot at the train, almost reluctantly.

Combat: Fortress misses Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; with his Laser attack!

Combat: Brainstorm misses Locomotive with his Photon Pulse Cannon attack! [Pulled -4]

"Find a place to hide if you gotta, Brainstorm," Pointblank says, standing next to his comrade's position, lining up Astrotrain in the sights of his emergency sonic pistol. "I won't judge." His tone is gravelly and dispassionate -- he doesn't even bother trash-talking the Decepticons. As he squeezes the trigger of his gun, he lets the psychedelic green blast from his rayblaster speak for him.

Combat: Pointblank misses Locomotive with its Emergency Raygun attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Fortress Maximus sets his defense level to Protected.

Filthy Spacejet &lt;Snapdragon&gt; transforms into his bitchin' giant dinosaur mode, just in time to sidestep the blast from Nightbeat. The filthy tyrannosaur's pink jaws gape open in a semblance of a saurian grin, as the huge Decepticon lumbers towards the massive fortress taking up most of the bridge. "MAXIMUS!" He roars, slapping the planks with his huge tail. "/Scorponok/ has a message for you!" Stomp stomp stomp. "He is SWIFTLY running out of MEN to break! And you're all running out of TIME!" He roars, and lashes out with his diamond-hard claws and teeth, ripping at Fortress Maximus's bulkheads, ramparts, and bulwarks.

Snapdragon transforms into a filthy, filthy dinosaur.

Combat: Snapdragon sets his defense level to Neutral.

Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; jolts backwards as he sees a massive Autobot. "Ahhhh... Autobots aren't supposed to be that big! They're supposed to be tiny and weak! GRUNK!" Bouncing around, the macho monkey mech manages to maneuver, missing Maximus's mini-mech's magnificant attempt to blast him. The shot sizzles right past Apeface's head, leaving a tiny singe mark. "Hurrr, so the little Autobot wants to use the big Autobot as protection, huh?! Well Apeface don't play that!" Reaching forward with his monkey paws, he rips apart a science console, briefly holds it over his head, and hurls it at the rampart Cog is hiding behind. "Huuuuragh!" Hit or miss, Apeface is already advancing. "Astrotrain, Snapdragon, don't bother with the finesse. Aim anywhere! You're gonna hit SOMETHING GOOD!"

Combat: Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; strikes Fortress with his Breakin' down the walls! attack!

Combat: Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; strikes Fortress with its Sudden Bludgeoning attack! [Pulled -3]

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

Astrotrain doesn't so much evade the shot from Brainstorm as simply transofrm and rise up while the blast streaks past and impacts the wall behind him. Moving with all of his legendary (perhaps in his own mind) speed, the purple winged Decepticon triplechanger then lunges low as Pointblank opens fire as well, kicking up a nearby chair as if it should serve as some sort of cover. Brainstorm's comment is registering in his mind all too clearly, "Primitive alternate form...PRIMITIVE! I'LL SHOW YOU FRAGGIN PRIMITIVE!" And with that, he pulls up his rifle, turning and aiming it in the general direction of both Brainstorm and Pointblank together, "You two are gonna be the test subjects fer my new firing modes! I don't know your names but...YOUR FACE IS FUNNY!" And with that, he lets loose with a sudden, powerful blast from his rifle that tears loose, actually causing metal to flake and shatter where it makes contact as he fires at both of the Autobots who fired at him!

Combat: Astrotrain misses Brainstorm with his Ionic Displacer Rifle Area attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Astrotrain misses Pointblank with his Ionic Displacer Rifle Area attack! [Pulled -2]

"Back to class? BACK TO CLASS? My class got blown up, you insensitive jerk!" Misfire wails, gun still poised and ready to miss-I mean, hit that jerk Nightbeat in the face. "I am a deadly force to be reckoned with! Don't ignore me! GET BACK HERE!" He scrambles up onto a command console and fires from the higher ground.

Combat: Misfire sets his defense level to Aggressive.

Combat: Misfire misses Nightbeat with his Ion Particle Blaster attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Misfire (Misfire) used "Ion Particle Blaster": A Level 3 RANGED attack.

Combat: Brainstorm sets his defense level to Aggressive.

Combat: Pointblank sets his defense level to Guarded.

Cog, being a mere drone, merely realigns his blaster when the first shot misses. Before the small robot can fire another blast, though, he is nailed in the chest by the tossed console, knocking him from Fortress Maximus' tower and onto the deck with a sickening crunch. Snapdragon meets no resistance as he goes on a Godzilla-esque rampage, shredding armored panels and bashing against Fortress Maximus' thickly armored walls. It appears a strategy of pure defense is not helping the Autobot commander much.

"Inform Scorponok that his message has been received," Fortress Maximus' disembodied voice echoes from his immobile form. Panels begin to shift and whir, blast doors close and ramps retract. "After you've been disposed of, I'll come for him next." A pair of red cannons rise up in his newly formed Battlestation mode, each one lifting with a whir and targeting a Horrorcon with a laser pointer. Simultaneous thunder rips through the bridge as the mortar cannons erupt, firing perilously at close-range -- but it seems Fortress Maximus has well-calculcated the attack, the blasts only threatening Snapdragon, Apeface, along with some already mangled bulkheads.

Fortress transforms into his Battlestation mode.

Combat: Battlestation strikes Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; with his Laser-Guided Mortars Area attack!

Combat: Battlestation strikes Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; with his Laser-Guided Mortars Area attack!

Brainstorm remarks, "Run away? No, I can't do that, I'm waiting for that report to come in from the probe." He quickly dodges past the ion displacer blasts, commenting, as he watches the wall take the damage, "Wow! Is that some sort of disintegrator ray? I'll have to look at that weapon when we defeat you." There's a chime from the science console, and Brainstorm stands, peering at it. "Oh, wait, hold on. The drone's back and it's submitting a sensor report--" Then, of course, Apeface rips it right out of the floor and uses it as a bludgeoning instrument. "What!? NOOO! You jerk! I was going to study those readings!" Yelling, he charges recklessly at the brutish triple-changer, guns blazing!

Combat: Brainstorm misses Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; with his Photon Pulse Cannon attack! [Pulled -2]

Nightbeat is definitely an insensitive jerk - Misfire got that part right only minutes after meeting Nightbeat! He continues to stand in place, and Misfire's shot misses him again. Raising an optical ridge, he asks Misfire, "Did they blow up your targeting computer, too? Seriously." He draws his second photon pistol, aims one at Snapdragon and one at Apeface, guns akimbo style.

Combat: Nightbeat sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Nightbeat misses Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; with his Twin Photon Pistols Area attack!

Combat: Nightbeat strikes Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; with his Twin Photon Pistols Area attack!

Pointblank makes smart use of cover -- namely, his ruined console, as he dives behind it to avoid having his head popped off by Astrotrain's rampaging blast. "Maximus," he calls, from his crouched position, as he jams a fresh sonic clip into the emergency pistol. "If this fight keeps up, the bridge might be toast!" Maximus is a smart guy, but Pointblank is an old man, and that trumps anything. Crawling along behind some consoles, Pointblank waits for a good moment -- and then springs up, trying to catch Astrotrain from one side with another blast from his rayblaster, neon green double-helix sonic waves rippling toward the Triplechanger.

Combat: Pointblank misses Astrotrain with his Emergency Raygun attack! [Pulled -2]

Astrotrain reacts more on preprogrammed instinct than anything else as Pointblank opens fire at him. The old veteran's plan was tactically sound, and in fact pretty much perfectly lined up, it's just the fact that he's so damned -fast- that the original triplechanger manages to avoid the blast, ducking low and flattening himself out before rolling hard to one side, coming up on one knee, and sprinting halfway through an open blast door to half use it as cover, "Hoo hoo! Can ya fly in space, Autobot!?" he howls, turning and wildly blasting with his rifle in a one-handed spray in Pointblank's direction trying to tag the Autobot with a random shot more than anything. "Cause if yer pretty little ship explodes, ain't gonna mean nothing to me!" Well it will if he's on board at the time, but you know....

"HOOYEAH!" Apeface shouts, pumping his monkey fist in triumph as Cog gets slammed by the science console. "You've just been owned... BY SCIENCE!!" The monkey mech continues to charge towards the ramparts, having no idea of what sort of pain he's getting himself into. But Fortress Maximus shifts from one mishmashed mode to another mishmashed mode. The red cannons pop up, and Apeface scoffs, not noticing the little red dot on his forehead. "Aw, you think I'm scared of you? You think I'm scared o- ARGH MY FACE IS ON FIRE!!" Apeface recoils backwards, clawing at his ape face. It doesn't take a brainiac to figure out what interrupted his speech (hint: mortars). Flames and energy engulfs the Horrorcon's head as he staggers backwards, trying to make the pain go away. "GRAGHadfraaaa kill! GRUNK!" Luckily for Apeface, his random staggering manages to walk right past the NERD GUNS of Brainstorm. "WAHGHARAGH!" Even luckier, he wobbles right past the pistol blast from a certain Autobot detective. "Rrrraaghroo!!" While he claws at his head with one ape paw, Apeface lashes out with the other, smashing a support struct out of rage. This causes a section of the bridge to collapse, sending debris raining down upon Nightbeat and Brainstorm.

Combat: Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; strikes Nightbeat with its Sudden Bludgeoning Area attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; (Apeface) used "Sudden Bludgeoning": A Level 4 AREA-MELEE attack.

Combat: You took 14 damage.

Combat: Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; strikes Brainstorm with its Sudden Bludgeoning Area attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Astrotrain strikes Pointblank with his Ionic Displacer Rifle attack! [Pulled -5]

Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; may be big and mean and covered in slime, but he's no slouch upstairs. While he may not be as dim as the dinobots, he isn't much more agile than one, not in his beefy tyrannosaur mode. The mortars blast into Snapdragon's armoured hide, knocking even this heavily-armoured and powerful Decepticon off his feet. Nigtbeat's laser blasts are drops in the bucket compared to the damage inflicted by Maximus's explosives. The dinosaur growls, and scrambles to his feet, his tiny little forelegs being of no use in the operation. If the fortress is gonna play rough, Snapdragon can play rough too! The beast opens his maw ith a mighy roar, and leaps across the crowded bridge, savagely ripping away at Fortress Maximus again, but this time keeping his eyes open for retaliation from the huge Autobot, ready to leap to safety.

Combat: Snapdragon sets his defense level to Protected.

Combat: Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; misses Battlestation with his FURY UNLEASHED attack!

"When will you Decepticons learn that violence isn't the answer? Can't we solve our problems logically and rationally? And if you get angry, take it out on what the organic life forms call a 'dammit doll'? Can't you see what a tremendous waste of energy this is. You, filth-monster. Wouldn't you rather be sitting in your den of slime than fighting us?" And he proceeds to attack Snapdragon the best way he knows how...with his words!

Misfire just gawks at Nightbeat. How did he manage to avoid that? Surely Nightbeat was either a) super fast, b) capable of teleportation, or c) he can control time. "Your finely tuned skills will eventually fail, Autobot!" Misfire hollers, still standing tall and proud on the console. "Prepare for DEATH BY LASERS!"

Combat: Highbrow strikes Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; with his Use Your Words! attack!

Combat: Misfire misses Nightbeat with his Random Barrage attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: Misfire (Misfire) used "Random Barrage": A Level 4 AREA-RANGED attack.

Nightbeat is suddenly bludgeoned by an ape as his cunning plan of standing still to evade Misfire finally fails. He's sure Batman had days like this, fighting Gorilla Grodd and helping out the Flash. However, Misfire still misses, oddly enough. In severe pain, Nightbeat pinches the bridge of his nose, taks a few steps back, aims at the pink jet, and suggests, "Shove off."

Combat: Nightbeat sets his defense level to Guarded.

Combat: Nightbeat misses Misfire with his Plasma Blaster attack!

Combat: Drained 8 energon.

Brainstorm yells in pain as support beams come raining down on his head. "Aaaahhhh! Ow, damn! Unnngh..." Painfully, he crawls out from under the wreckage, forcing himself to stand slowly. "You... you jerk. I can't forgive you! Do you have any idea what you've done? There could have been astonishing things on the other side of the wormhole!" He flings himself at Apeface, arms and legs flailing. "I.. I hate you!"

Combat: Brainstorm misses Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; with his Smash attack!

"We can repair the bridge... Once the Decepticons have been repulsed!" Fortress Maximus booms, his mortar turrets smoking triumphantly as Snapdragon bites at his bulkheads with seemingly no effect. Once Highbrow arrives to handle the Horrorcon, Fortress Maximus again transforms -- rising back up into his robot form.

"Highbrow," he instructs the loquacious Autobot, "Hold the bridge. I'm going to reinforce the hangar." With that, Fortress Maximus does what he does best -- run away!

Battlestation transforms into his Fortress Maximus mode.

Combat: Fortress Maximus begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit.

Astrotrain's shots pepper Pointblank's shoulder, causing spiderweb cracks to open up along the surface of his armor. "Dammit," he groans, throwing himself back down behind his cover. The emergency rayblaster sparks and fizzles, clearly not meant to be fired more than once or twice in a true emergency; Pointblank hisses quietly to himself and withdraws his custom Space Beretta. "Tough talk," he calls back to Astrotrain. "Not impressed." He then leaps back up, firing a bullet made of .45-caliber moonrock from his highly advanced pistol.

Combat: Pointblank misses Astrotrain with his Space Beretta (Pistol) attack!

Fortress Maximus has left.

Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt;'s beady little optics peer steadily at Highbrow. Snaps isn't dumb, but the offer of laying at home in his big pot of boiling oil sure does sound inviting... Soaking in warm filth, instead of getting his chest blown open by mortar-fire. The sounds of battle distract him from his reverie, snapping him back to the present, and the lumbering beast watches as Fortress Maximus... FLEES! Into the waiting claws of Scorponok! He fires off a quick radio mesage, before glaring at the long-winded Highbrow. He leans in close, snorting flames out of his nostrils. "What wil lyou do now, little 'bot, without your big boss to protect you?" Snapdragon turns his attention to the bridge controls, and begins smashing everything he can, chewin his way through vital navigation systems and critical control pathways like it was an all you can eat buffet.

"Grah... pff... gah! Hack...!" Apeface manages to claw most of the fire away from his head. Luckily his colour scheme is already really dark so it's hard to see the singe marks on his monkey cranium. "H...haw haw...!" he laughs belatedly at Highbrow's plea. "When're you Autobots gonna learn how AWESOME violence is! Mebbe we should beat it into ya, eh? Haw!" Apeface bounces towards Brainstorm on his hands and feet, much the way a real ape does! "Wormhole? Huh?" He didn't really listen to most of what Scorponok said in the briefing. "The frag are you talkin' about?" The Autobot scientist lashes out at Apeface, but the mighty monkey raises one of his massive arms and blocks it. "Slap yo dumb aft!" He tries to backhand Brainstorm into a wall. Ahhhh, beating up nerds. Is there anything so awesome? As he slaps, he sees Fortress Maximus bailing. "Huh... thought the big guy might have some ball bearings, at least."

Combat: Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; misses Brainstorm with its Backhanded Slap (Punch) attack!

Combat: Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; strikes Bridge controls with his HUNGRY HUNGRY DINO attack!

Astrotrain ducks back behind his cover as Pointblank's countershot impacts the wall instead. There is an evil sounding *VRUUMMM* a moment later from behind the triplechanger's cover, and a glowing vermillion aura as he suddenly lunges out and begins running straight at Pointblank and his cover! "Don't score me till I'm done, little mech!" He howls out, "That's what ya call the setup...THIS is what ya call the finisher!" And with that, he leaps straight over the cover, his now blazing sword held in hand, shaped and such a size that it could potentially make Voltron jealous, as he brings the weapon over in both hands and descends, trying to chop Pointblank thusly in half! "The name's Astrotrain! Dontcha forget it!"

Combat: Astrotrain strikes Pointblank with his Zord-Sword attack!

Misfire misses again. Damn. Maybe another thousand years in school would've helped after all. Laser fire crackles over his head as Nightbeat fires and (hilariously enough) misses as well. "AUTOBUTT!" he shouts before ducking behind the console and hiding,

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

Nightbeat misses Misfire, which is rather hilarious, indeed. Apparently the pink jet only has bad aim, not bad agility. Good to know; bad to learn. Grumbling, the detective decides to try to kick Snapdragon, since the horrible pink jet has gone off to hide behind a console. This is about as wise is kicking a Dinobot, he knows.

Combat: Nightbeat sets his defense level to Aggressive.

Combat: Nightbeat strikes Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; with his Police Brutality (Kick) attack!

Combat: Drained 2 energon.

Brainstorm, despite being in the throes of nerd rage, sees the monkey limb coming and manages to duck under it. Before he can follow up his feeble attack, though, he sees Snapdragon continuing to tear up the bridge! "No, stop that, what are you doing!?" he cries. "The ship will lose control!"

Just then, the ship SHUDDERS VIOLENTLY, and Brainstorm stumbles about the bridge before he catches himself against the wall. "Stop it, you'll kill us all!" Brainstorm then growls, "STOP THIS NOWWW!!!!" Directing his photon cannons to the sides, they fire not a laser pulse this time, but a blinding flash which fills the room with light!

Combat: Brainstorm strikes Nightbeat with his Photon Flash Area attack!

Combat: Brainstorm (Brainstorm) used "Photon Flash": A Level 0 AREA-RANGED attack.

Combat: You took 0 damage.

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

Combat: Brainstorm misses Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; with his Photon Flash Area attack!

Combat: Brainstorm strikes Misfire with his Photon Flash Area attack!

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

Combat: Brainstorm strikes Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; with his Photon Flash Area attack!

Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt;'s Accuracy. (Blinded)

Combat: Brainstorm strikes himself with his Photon Flash Area attack!

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

Combat: Brainstorm strikes Highbrow with his Photon Flash Area attack!

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

Combat: Brainstorm strikes Pointblank with his Photon Flash Area attack!

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

Combat: Brainstorm misses Astrotrain with his Photon Flash attack!

Highbrow doesn't want the ship disabled! And apparently his words didn't have as much effect as he desired. He grumbles softly to himself. "Curse you for making me resort to this barbarism, but I MUST stop you from ruining our ship," Highbrow says to Snapdragon. He transforms to Helicopter mode, then fires a blast at Snapdragon that is intended to slow him down.

Highbrow's head flies off and transforms into a robot. Meanwhilte the headless robot collapses and folds into a dual-rotor helicopter.

Combat: Jet_Helicoptor strikes Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; with his Get the hades away from that please attack!

Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt;'s Agility. (Crippled)

The blade Astrotrain wields rips into Pointblank's armor, carving a searing gash down his center, loosing electric blue sparks. "Ugh!" he growls, knocked backward and sprawling onto his rear bumper. Just then, Snapdragon disables the guidance console -- and Brainstorm's photon flash blinds the Autobot enforcer! "Aah, dammit, Brainstorm," he growls, launching to his feet and attempting to detect Astrotrain through the chaffed-out fuzz that currently constitutes his vision, attempting to tackle the bigger robot to the ground, and maybe get in a few rabbit punches.

Combat: Pointblank misses Astrotrain with his Blind Tackle (Smash) attack!

Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt;'s thick, columnar leg now has a tiny, tiny dent in it, shaped like Nightbeat's boot. The lumbering beast turns, ponderously, to glare down on the small PI 'bot. He leans in, jaws opening wide, when his vision fills with a flash of blinding light, and the Tyrannosaur stumbles around blindly(also, he IS still day-dreaming about his hottub full of boiling oil). and while he's blinded, someone shoots him in the leg andmakes him stumbles around even worse! He does his best to try and take a bite out of Nightbeat, even if he is dazzled, crippled, and confused.

Combat: Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; misses Nightbeat with his take a BITE out of crime fighter (Kick) attack!

Combat: Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; (Snapdragon) used "Kick": A Level 2 MELEE attack.

"EGADS! MY EYES!" Misfire flails around in his hiding space. That's it. He's pretty much useless.

Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; laughs and laughs at Brainstorm's discomfort. "That's right, Autobot! We're sending this ship doowwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnn!" He strkes a pose and holds it for a while, giving Brainstorm plenty of time to direct his photon cannons and fire the flash. Apeface just stands there. Did he blink at the right time? Are his monkey eyes /really/ special? Perhaps it is a mystery that will never be solved, but Apeface is still a-ok. "Blinding flash of light? You tried to blind me? With a flash? Of light? Don't you know who I am?!" He reaches back to try and smack Brainstorm into the command chair. "I'm Apeface, bitch!" He doesn't seem to realize that the flash of light was significantly more effective against almost everyone else.

Combat: Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; misses Brainstorm with his Pimp Slap. (Punch) attack!

Astrotrain doesn't actually react out of instinct to Brainstorm's mass blinding attack. He instead just happens to have his back turned as he's adjusting the setting on his energy sword, dialing down the energy frequency a few notches. When the entire room goes brightly white, he shields his optics as extra protection, blinking as he lowers his arm enough to finally see again, just in time as Pointblank suddenly lunges towards him! "HEY! No way, little mech!" he shouts out, leaping back suddenly, his large blocky feet clanking on the floor as he carefully ejects the energy clip from the sword's hilt and slaps in a fresh one in short order, "Got any last words, Autoscrap? I dunno who ya are, so I'm afraid I won't remember ya much when I'm done with ya. Not that it would change the fact if I knew yer name anyway! Haw haw!"

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

Nightbeat sheyaghs in sheer and utter pain as his fine, fine and sensitive optical sensors are exposed to a blinding glare. Letting loose a stream of curses that would make even a sailor blush, he screams, "For the love of Primus below in a handbasket, you bootleg! Slagging /warn/ me before you circuit-fragging do that!" Why did he bother finding these guys, again? Oh yeah, because he loves solving mysteries. Blindly, he manages to stumble out of the way of Snapdragon, and then he goes stumbling right back at the Horrorcon.

Combat: Nightbeat misses Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; with his Blind Bumbling (Punch) attack!

Combat: Gained 1 energon.

Combat: Pointblank sets his defense level to Aggressive.

Brainstorm, having blinded even himself, stumbles across the bridge, trying to feel his way to the command console. He is utterly oblivious to the fact that Apeface just took a swing at him and he only barely managed to walk away before he got pummeled. "I don't care who you are! If I don't correct our course, it's not going to matter!" Brainstorm yells. Grabbing on to the command chair, he sits himself down in it and attempts to use the console--by *memory.* "Alright... *gasp* I think the retro thrusters are... here!" He types away, and the ship rumbles. The view of space seems to stop spinning. Was Brainstorm successful?

Combat: Brainstorm sets his defense level to Fearless.

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

Slowly recovering from his spasm of blindness after tumbling to the ground in a vain attempt to slam into Astrotrain, Pointblank listens to the Triplechanger's taunts. "My last words, son?" he says, kneeling, staring at the floor -- actually scanning around, looking for something he might be able to use to his advantage. A length of pipe dislodged by one of Snapdragon's chomps is close enough to make a scramble for -- and Pointblank does so, suddenly surging upward and attempting to smash the pipe upside Astrotrain's face. "You'll be long gone by the time /my/ last words get spoken."

Combat: Pointblank strikes Astrotrain with his Pipes RIP (Punch) attack!

Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; stumbles around like a drunken mutt, one of his legs still gimped by Highbrow's gimping cannon or whatever it was. Luckily, his drunken stumbling leads him away from Nightbeat's equally drunken punching. "HEY! Nobody's saving THIS sinking ship while I'm around!" He roars, and fires off a blast from his gyro-guns at the hapless Brainstorm.

Combat: Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; strikes Brainstorm with his Get away from them controls! attack! [Pulled -1]

"HAW HAW HAW! Ya know..." Astrotrain's taunts just keep coming as Pointblank kneels there for a moment, "...when I heard there was a buncha Autoscraps on this ship that I didn't know about...I wasn't sure if they was some super secret awesome group! Now I see why, I bet yer the Bots' rejects aintcha? Probably fired ya off into space cause they were too ashamed to have wimps like you around! HAW HAW" *WHOCK!* The pipe connects squarely with Astrotrain's jaw, rocking the big triplechanger back, his feet crashing back to steady himself from the abrupt hit, more startled than really badly hurt, as he manages to steady himself a moment later and stand upright again. Except there's something wrong. His head is facing the wrong way...yes...the hit to his mouth was hard enough it has spun Astrotrain's head around 180 degrees to face backwards, his optics wide in shock and surprise. "...WHAT'D YOU DO!?" He shrieks outwards, glancing down at himself, his hands moving back to grip at his own skidplate. "...and why didn't anyone tell me my aft was so big!?"

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

"The only place you're gonna be thrustin' with yer retro..." Apeface snarls as Brainstorm stumbles away from his otherwise perfect slap, "IS IN HELL!" He bounds after Brainstorm, eagerly planning on destroying both the Autobot brainiac and the command chair with it. Scorponok wants this ship destroyed, and this ape plans on making sure that dream gets realized. Apeface attempts to grab onto Brainstorm's arm with one of his massive paws. If successful, he'll whip the Autobot up and around above his head a few times like a lasso before hurling him towards the viewscreen. We'll see if /that/ doesn't get the view of space spinning again.

Combat: Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; misses Brainstorm with his 2 attack!

One good shot -- Pointblank, continuing to spark and sizzle from the raw wound on his chest, just hopes he can capitalize on it. Gritting his teeth-like oral sensor array, the Autobot brings the pipe up over his head, and continues to swing at Astrotrain, hoping to batter the larger robot into at least a moment of submission. "Brainstorm! Highbrow! How we holding up?!" he calls over sharply, with the sudden bark of a stealth drill instructor.

Brainstorm mutters to himself, "Just one more correction---AAHHHHHGH!" Snapdragon's gyro-jet shells rip through the back of the command chair and slam into his back. "Unnngh... losing... my balance!" Brainstorm wheezes weakly, his fingers brushing against some of the *wrong* keys as he slides off of the seat (also narrowly avoiding Apeface). "Unnnh... nooo..." Groggy, he brings up one of his photon blasters for what will no doubt be another fruitless attack against Decepticon jock/bully Apeface.

Combat: Pointblank misses Astrotrain with his PIPES WOULD HAVE WANTED IT THIS WAY (Smash) attack!

Brainstorm groans as he squeezes the trigger, "Terrible..."

Combat: Brainstorm strikes Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; with his Photon Pulse Cannon attack! [Pulled -3]

While all of this robo-carnage is going on, the retro thrusters, now accidentally pointed in the wrong direction, cause the Steelhaven to spin wildly out of control!

"Oh, I'LL save the ship," Highbrow states stiffly, "And you will take your leave or I will give you another tonguelashing." He transforms back to robot mode and reaches for his acid rifle. "I do so hate senseless violence. But I hate senseless foes even more. Go back to your sanctuary of filth and leave the rest of the universe alone!" Idly he wonders if the grubby dinosaur would actually enjoy the acid from his weapon.

Helicopter blades fold back and show the arms, the back end of the fuselage separates to form legs, and a little robot leaps into the air and transforms into Highbrow's head.

Combat: Highbrow strikes Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; with his Rainmaker Rifle attack!

Nightbeat scrambles over to the controls. He can't hear the frantic radio chatter, but he can feel the ship lurching, and this is not good. Man of many trades, the detective scrambles, looking for an auxiliary console of some kind, something, anything. C'mon, big bird, keep in the sky. In space. Whatever.

Combat: Nightbeat sets his defense level to Protected.

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

Combat: Regained 4 energon.

Filthy Tyrannosaur &lt;Snapdragon&gt; grips the floor wit his hardended steel talon, as the ship spins out of control. "My job here is done!" He shouts, and makes for the gaping wound in the Steelhaven's hull. He ignores Highbrow's pitiful spray of acid, and transforms into his jet mode to make a hasty departure. His jets fill the cabin with flames, and he heads for the stars.

Snapdragon transforms into a filthy, filthy space-jet.

Combat: Filthy Spacejet &lt;Snapdragon&gt; begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit.

Snapdragon has disconnected.

"Ooooh yer a sneaky lil' git, aren'tcha?!" Apeface garuffs as Brainstorm again manages to avoid him. Course this time it was due to Snapdragon blasting him, so he'll let it slide. He starts to bound after Brainstorm, even ignoring the little stain that his photon blasters make against his mighty kong-like chest. He takes a leap, but then the ship changes positions and Apeface goes flying into a bulkhead instead. Kapow! Dizzy, he struggles to stand up. "Hurrrr... not going to stay here while this ship crashes. Haw, you Bots enjoy the trip down!" He bounds for the hole, planning to leap out of it using his monkey-fu.

Combat: Ape &lt;Apeface&gt; begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Misfire, Astrotrain, Highbrow, and Pointblank

"Wait..." Astrotrain states, using his big, bulky forearms to try and block Pointblank's assault, and actually halfway succeeding in the process! "Wait a min...stop..." Yes, he's facing the wrong way, but he's flailing blindly in the process, managing to put up some measure of defense! There's a few small dents in his armor, and paint chipped away, but it allows him to suddenly wrench backwards out of reach of that flailing pipe! "Would you GIVE ME A SECOND!" And with that, he reaches up and takes hold of his head, giving a sharp wrenching motion and snapping it back into where it's supposed to go. "Okay you little used up piece of trash! We're gonna finish this and....woah!" He stumbles as the ship starts to careen about out of control for a moment, throwing him back against a bulkhead. As his radio starts to sputter and crackle, he pauses to tap at his head, wondering if the blow messed up his transmissions somehow. "...yer lucky I didn't get a chance to finish you off!" he fistshakes after Pointblank. "Oh wait, yer not so lucky. Have fun going down with your ship! HAW HAW HAW!" And with that, he turns and sprints across the bridge, hurling himself out the hole they made earlier and into open space! He transforms a second after, thrusters igniting like twin wildfires and propelling him into the void. Parts spin, components shift and Astrotrain's body grows in size until he is an enormous space shuttle.

Combat: Decepticon Shuttle &lt;Astrotrain&gt; begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit.

Misfire pokes out from the console he's been hiding behind this entire time. It's not his fault he's totally useless for anything other than a door maker. "Yeah! What he said! Only with the addition of 'AHA HA HA'." He transforms into his super cool jet mode, makes like a tree, and gets the hell outta there. "AUTOLOSERS, AHA HA!"

Misfire transforms into a sweet fighter jet.

Combat: Hot Pink Jet &lt;Misfire&gt; begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Decepticon Shuttle &lt;Astrotrain&gt;

Combat: Brainstorm sets his defense level to Neutral.

Brainstorm rises up, placing a hand on Nightbeat's shoulder as he points out the finer details of steering the Steelhaven. "No, no, you have to press... press the Fuel Interlock key, then... my head hurts so much... adjust ninety degrees to the... the left? Yeah, the left."

Nightbeat uses his powers of observation to note, "Ah... the Decepticreeps are all bailing, and you know what they say about retrorats leaving a sinking ship." However, he listens well to Brainstorm's instructions, trying to do what must be done - if not to save to the ship, at least to crash it gracefully and save those souls on board. Where are they headed, anyway?

From Outside: Triggerhappy has arrived.

From Outside: Triggerhappy arrives from Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;.

Pointblank leans against a busted wall, looking over at his comrades. Though damaged, he still manages to keep himself composed, lurching over toward the damaged consoles, trying to see if /anything/ can be salvaged -- granted, he's hardly the most tech-savvy guy in outer space. "Not the time to sound like you're not sure, Brainstorm," he notes ruefully.

From Outside: Triggerhappy has left.

Apeface has left.

From Outside: Apeface has arrived.

Astrotrain has left.

From Outside: Apeface arrives from Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;.

From Outside: Apeface has left.

From Outside: Apeface boards Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

From Outside: Mindwipe has arrived.

From Outside: Mindwipe arrives from Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;.

From Outside: Mindwipe has left.

From Outside: Astrotrain has arrived.

From Outside: Mindwipe boards Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

From Outside: Astrotrain arrives from Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;.

From Outside: Astrotrain has left.

From Outside: Astrotrain boards Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

From Outside: Triggerhappy has arrived.

From Outside: Triggerhappy arrives from Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;.

From Outside: Triggerhappy has left.

From Outside: Triggerhappy boards Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

Misfire has left.

Misfire has arrived.

Misfire has left.

From Outside: Misfire has arrived.

From Outside: Misfire arrives from Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt;.

From Outside: Misfire has left.

From Outside: Misfire boards Decepticon Heavy Warship &lt;Hellbender&gt;.

Brainstorm looks up through the busted viewscreen, which is now, really, just a window to the outside. He points out of it. "Look! A planet! And we're heading right for it!" He examines the control console, pointing its workings out to the detective that he does not know. "Fortress Maximus is right. We have to divert power to the retro thrusters! Give it everything we've got! We can't avoid landing at this point, all we can do is hope we slow down enough so that we can survive!"

He sighs. "I'm sorry, Pointblank, but the Decepticons really worked us over, good! I... think their ship is still attached to ours, though, so maybe they're in just as much trouble!"

Highbrow gets to work right away. "You're right," he says to Brainstorm, "I will do what I can." He starts jury-rigging circuitboards with loose wires, hoping to get some measure of control from the remaining consoles.

Pointblank just sighs in response to Brainstorm, and does what he can to divert power from other, barely-functioning consoles to the retro-thrusters. "Good working with you guys," he notes calmly, flipping switches and punching brightly colored space buttons. "Just in case."

Fortress Maximus has arrived.

Hardhead has arrived.

Hardhead has been relatively unscathed compared to his peers in this battle, but the explosion catches him offguard while he grimaces fiercely at the escaping Mindwipe. He is SLAMED through a bulkhead as the explosions crumple and shear him. The hurt is put on him. Things get dark despite the fires and flashing lights. Hardhead, for the first time in a long, long, long time is put down. They predicted change earlier today. And change is what is on the horizon... that and the fast approaching planet?

Brainstorm sighs, hanging his head. "Yeah... same here. It was great working with you. I just wish... if it wasn't for this war, we could've achieved so much. Damn that Scorponok, we couldn't he leave us alone?" As they breach the upper atmosphere, super-heated air begins to rush in! "Someone shut the blast shield before we're all fried!"

Hardhead is a stubborn sonofaglitch, however, and like a decapitated samurai, has the strength of will to perform one last act before losing himself to the void. He crawls from the floor towards weapons control, and with his soldier-grit, intends to take down the Decepticon ship with the Steelhaven.

Hardhead says, "You're... going... down... maggots."

From Outside: Combat: Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt; sets its defense level to Fearless.

From Outside: Combat: Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt; strikes Decepticon Heavy Warship Hellbender with its Plasma Turret attack!

Hardhead smirks as he slumps to the floor, his middle finger extended for some unknown reason.

Highbrow braces himself even as he tries repairing damaged consoles. He's not likely to get done before they crash, but every little bit helps.

From Outside: Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt; erupts in a salvo of plasma blasts from its turrets, its entire hangar featuring a gigantic, smoking hole. The ship starts to be dragged into the gravitational field of a nearby planet. Green, ringed.

Nebulos.

From Outside: Decepticon Heavy Warship Hellbender is going down, busted up by Krunix's bad piloting and inability to undock properly and the Steelhaven's last hurrah.

Sureshot has arrived.

Pointblank brces himself as well, having diverted as much power as was possibly sane -- and then some -- into the attempts to get the thrusters online. Better to minimize the crash, if nothing else. "What's that old song?" he says over to Highbrow, his grip buckling the metal panels. "Up to mighty Iacon -- came an Autobot one day -- as the streets are paved with gold -- sure, everyone was gay --"

Nightbeat tries to help with the consoles - what else is there do? He's not going to panic or give up. If he's going to die, he'll die doing everything he can.

From Outside: Folassian Forest – Nebulos

From Outside: The Folassian forest stretches out for miles over the surface of the planet. Grassy fronds have reclaimed much of the devastation laid upon the world from the Decepticon occupation, and leafy trees now stretch high into the sky to swat at the sun. Raccoon and squirrel-like creatures scurry about collecting nuts and berries and birds sing sweetly in the undergrowth.

From Outside:

Contents:

From Outside: Obvious exits:

From Outside: North &lt;N&gt; leads to The Nursery -- Nebulos.

From Outside: South &lt;S&gt; leads to Lookout Point -- Nebulos.

From Outside: West &lt;W&gt; leads to Sunny Valley -- Nebulos.

From Outside: East &lt;E&gt; leads to Koraja -- Nebulos.

From Outside: Astrotrain arrives from the Lookout Point -- Nebulos to the south.

From Outside: Astrotrain has arrived.

From Outside: Combat: Autobot Heavy Cruiser &lt;Steelhaven&gt; misses Decepticon Shuttle &lt;Astrotrain&gt; with its Point-Defense Lasers attack!

Brainstorm grumbles as he just presses the button to bring up the blast shield himself. Good thing--it sealed off the breach in the viewscreen. It's just as well that the Autobots can't see how quickly they're approaching the planet. "Well, I guess this is it. Good bye--" THOOOOMMMMM!!! There's a jarring crash, and Brainstorm is flung against the ceiling, bouncing right off of it. Sections of the ceiling collapse and systems spark and explode all over the bridge.

From Outside: Decepticon Shuttle &lt;Astrotrain&gt; tried to make it from the Hellbender! He did! But a stray piece of debris from the doomed Decepticon vessel has crashed into his rear port, sending him hurtling down towards the planet as well, trailing a long tendril of smoke in his wake as he goes. If one could hear him, they would no doubt catch his cowardly scream the whole way, "EEEYEAAAAAAAAAIIIIE!"

Pointblank sings his song until the bridge's ceiling collapses onto him, beams of durable space metal smashing through him, jagged and broken pipes puncturing clean through his torso. It is, as far as deactivations go, a fairly quick one, although it leaves his comrades the momentary sight of his grievously wounded upper body poking out of the top of the debris pile.

From Outside: Astrotrain moves east to the Koraja -- Nebulos.

From Outside: Astrotrain has left.

Highbrow is out cold. He's frozen right in the middle of a repair job of the controls, slumped over a chair holding two wires.

Sureshot was already knocked out back in the hanger. He's not even really here.

Nightbeat has a photographic memory and a mind that processes extremely quickly. A few seconds are real long for him. They're longer when he's dying from combined combat injuried, shrapnel wounds, and impact trauama from the crash. They're even longer when the Autobots he just tracked down are dying, maybe because Decepticons followed him. What does he know? But the Big Shutdown comes for us all, and not even Nightbeat can hope to escape it.

o/~

What I've Done

I'll face myself

To cross out what I've become

Erase myself

and let go of what I've done

o/~

TO BE CONTINUED...