The Music

Summary: The music. Astrotrain faces it.

The H.I.V.E. – Nebulos

The Highly Intelligent Vehicle Exterminators are an ultra-secret black division of the Ministry of Science, dedicated to preventing another robot disaster from ever befalling Nebulos again. All kinds of unethical research are conducted here. There are vast hangers and garages full of strange machinery, and dissection laboratories abound. Mysterious dark green tubes, which seem to have something growing inside, bubble malevolently. The place is cold, dim, and clammy overall, a dreadful place to work. There is a nice cafeteria, though.

Contents:

Astrotrain

Giant_Scorpion

Obvious exits: Up &lt;U&gt; leads to Ministry of Science - Nebulos.

Astrotrain has been starting to get the feeling that there is more than meets the eye to this scenario. It's like that little buzzing in theback of one's mind that's been steadily getting worse with each passing moment as he's been 'escorted' back to where the rest of the Decepticons have been staying. As a result, the triplechanger has been relatively quiet for now, optics wide as he walks in, trying hard to miss nothing.

The employees of the H.I.V.E were already a bit afraid of Vorath, dark and severe man as he was, very intolerant of lapses in the scientific method. Now that Vorath is riding around inside a death metal robot bat? Now Vorath is just downright terrifying. Standing atop Mindwipe's back for a better perch, he turns about as a guard informs him that Astrotrain has returned. He steeples his fingers and calls out to the Decepticon, "Astrotrain! I am pleased to inform you that there has been a change in management."

And what is in the H.I.V.E base at the moment? Various Decepticons are perhaps milling about in a state of idleness. Monitors show the progress of a transmission being made from the moon. And sitting at a large, ornate table that is near Mindwipe, is the Nebulon Lord Zarak. Wearing a simple robe, he is currently tucking in to a plateful of food, savouring each mouthful as he eats. And then he hears Mindwipe speaking up. "Ah" he intones. "/Astrotrain/"

Astrotrain slows for a moment as he sees the small...figure, standing on Mindwipe's back. With the armor, he looks alot to the big triplechanger like a small transformer, and assumption he made earlier when he saw Arcana leap from Brainstorm's shoulders. "...is it me or is this gettin weirder by the minute..?" he mutters to himself as he steps on in to the center part of the base, pausing as he catches sight of Zarak in his robe and eating food. Wait...eating food? "What the frag...?" he says aloud, optics narrowing as he stares at Zarak's comparitively tiny form, then back to the other Decepticons milling about. Oh no...in the triplechanger's mind he's suddenly dreading the thought that there might be another 'alliance' having been forged with some of the local squishies.

Vorath always did like the cafeteria here. The barbeque mercury sauce that they put on the ribs? Outstanding. He climbs down from Mindwipe's back and wanders over to the table, standing near it, and he explains cheerily, "No need for expletives, old chap. The rest of your Decepticon companions are now beholden to the Nebulan people." He removes his helmet. "You see. As such, your previous actions have been deemed rather, ah, inappropriate."

Zarak finishes his main course and moves to the dessert. It is a rather nice ice cream. He ignores Astrotrain for a good moment, before snapping his head back up to glare at the triplechanger with a look of barely disguised malice. "Indeed. We have much to discuss Astrotrain. Will you take a seat? This is not a request by the way."

Astrotrain stands silently for a long few moments again, watching as Vorath walks across to the table, then focusing his gaze on Zarak once more. "You wanna discuss stuff? Unless yer tellin me someway I can leave this mudball and get back to Cybertron I doubt ya got anythin good to say to me." And then the mentioning of it not being a request nevertheless draws a sudden guffaw. "Haw haw haw! That's good! A squishy givin me orders!" He takes a moment to walk over to where Mindwipe is, reahcing out with one finger to poke the giant bat, "C'mon! You bunch ain't really lettin organics run the show, are ya?"

Giant Bat explains, "The situation is something akin to a wizard of lore with a familiar. However, Vorath is my head." Vorath slips his helmet back on, and the bat rears up, transforming, Vorath indeed forming the head. Mindwipe stares over at Astrotrain and, in a very soothing tone of voice, suggests, "/Sit/."

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

Behind Astrotrain, in the darkness there is a shuffle and crunch, and the slight reflection of light off a large purple claw which flexes slightly. Zarak holds his spoon tightly in his hands, a smile creasing upon his face as Vorath speaks. That is one merger he finds /very/ interesting indeed. But for the moment it is Astrotrain who has his attention.

"Run the show Astrotrain?" he booms, and the voice from the small humanoid is perhaps deeper and louder than it should be. "RUN the show?"

"I AM the show!"

Astrotrain takes a step back from Mindwipe as Vorath transforms and lands on his shoulders, spinning just in time as the giant scorpion's presence is revealed, and the triplechanger's optics bulge a big more. "Wha...what..." He starts, stumbling back again and falling on his aftplate as he stares up at Scorponok's shadow, then back to Zarak, and finally back to Mindwipe. He does this several times, before pointing a finger towards Scorponok, "Y...you mean you..." and then he points at Zarak. "...and you and...." He points at Mindwipe. "...like -that-!?" For a moment, his mouth bulges a bit, looking like he might upchuck. Is he even capable of such a thing? His sudden mechanical equivelant of nausea suddenly gives way to the horrible, horrible realization of recognition now as he recalls Zarak at the council chamber. Away goes Astrotrain the boisterous one, and now along comes Astrotrain the survivor as he throws both hands up. "Woah! WOAH! Okay wait wait wait! I didn't know, okay!? I didn't know! The ship crashed, the others were are all trashed, YOU..." he points at Scorponok, "...had gone all spinning off into space! I didn't know!"

Mindwipe chuckles lowly, clearly amused by Astrotrain's horror, and remarks, "Oh, he /is/ a clever one, isn't he?" Astrotrain seems to have figured out the situation here quickly enough. "Too clever by half." Idly, Mindwipe withdraws his viper pistol and checks it over, should he need it for... pacification and suppression.

Zarak's expression gets even harsher as his body is surrounded by a flash of light and he is suddenly covered with cream and purple armour. "Ignorance is the opiate of the weak" he accuses as he launches into the air, transforming himself and landing on the shoulders of the mightly scorpion to form...

...SCORPONOK!

The Decepticon commander glares at Astrotrain, a look half of disappointment, half anger. "When Snapdragon brought you along, I was unimpressed but willing to be surprised. Instead you have proved yourself to be nothing but a COWARD and an IMBECILE. Where was the scouting of the land? Where was the search for survivors. Where was the strategy and the teamwork?"

His claws flex. "Where was the spark of COMMON SENSE that will allow me to spare your WORTHLESS life?"

Mindwipe clicks his tongue disapprovingly, and he reports, "There is a pressing experiment in biomechanical exo-armours that I must attend to personally." Mindwipe sounds as if he is put-upon to be forced to assist the actual normal science that is Vorath's forte as opposed to the dark sciences that Mindwipe so prefers, but he has to admit the value of the normal sciences, albeit grudgingly. He is quite certain that Scorponok has Astrotrain well in claw, and he excuses himself to go see to his work in one of the other hangers.

"But you were -fragged- I mean, you were all dead! I was runnin on empty, I had to recharge and and...you can still use me!" The triplechanger is scrambling now, his mind racing as he tries to think up something in his favor. Think think think! "I trashed the bots I fought! I'm good in a fight, I've always been!" Astrotrain states as he backpedals, forcing himself up to his feet again. Of course there's Decepticons all over the place, and he couldn't get away from them no matter how hard he tried right now while he's unable to use his third mo... "You need a ship!" He says suddenly, thrusting a hand up, palm out at Scorponok's huge form in a placating gesture. "You need a ship!" he repeats again. "The Bot ship, and your ship, they're wrecked, but you can still have a spaceship!" With that, he stands up, trying to do his best placating gesture the way Starscream would have, as he gestures to himself. "Me! I'm a spaceship! If I wasn't damaged by the crash I could have transformed and just flown back to Cybertron on my own! That's what the bo...what Galvatron always has me doing, I can carry loads of stuff, even a good chunk of the Decepticon army once!"

"I am SCORPONOK!" the Decepticon roars, his voice echoing round the halls of the facility. "I CANNOT die, you should know that by now!" He paces back and forth, his huge arms sliding behind his back in thought. And then finally he pauses. "Perhaps Astrotrain. Perhaps your uselessness can be undone. You will ferry my men to the lunar surface where Galvatron /HIMSELF/ will meet us. And then HE can decide what your fate will be."

Scorponok remains silent for a while. Is that all?

Then he raises a large claw and SNAPS it in front of Astrotrain's face. "So you have pleased Scorponok. Well done. But now you must please Zarak." The claw snaps again, and he leans in close, face flushed with anger.

"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER? And think fast, for you DARE NOT displease me!"

Astrotrain seems relieved at first. Galvatron is coming here? There may be an out for this yet! He tenses up again as the claw snaps in front of his face, sending him leaping back and lifting his arms as if to shield his face. "Gyah!" Where is his daughter indeed? It would have been SO much easier if he could have just handed Llyra back, maybe even score some brownie points that he hadn't hurt her? But he doesn't have her...it looks like his panicked scrambling to save his neck may be about to go down the drain! "Uh...uh..." When faced with such asituation, what's the best thing to do? Pass the buck to another scapegoat. "I don't have her anymore..." A pause, that moment before he's about to be destroyed. "...because the Autobots took her! The Bots who've done that head-merging thing just like you guys!"

"Of course!" Scorponok hisses. "/Galen/" His optical band glows a bright red for a moment, before going back to its normal colours. "You have failed me Astrotrain, but you have a slim chance to regain my favour. But know this. If she is hurt, if she is /inconvenienced/ in any way, then your only respite is to throw yourself upon my mercy."

Scorponok turns his back and starts to stride away from the triplechanger. Then he stops and turns his head.

"And as you well know, Scorponok HAS no mercy"

Astrotrain relaxes again, then gives a 'GRRRK' kind of face as Scorponok looks back once more, like he's about to have a heart attack. "No mercy...got it." he says finally, sitting back and staring up as Scorponok walks off, wondering just what the heck he just got himself into. So far as he's concerned, Galvatron can't get here soon enough. "...F*BLEEP* me."