POV: Sabotage!

Moments ago...

The forcefield surrounding the intensive care beds fizzles, and sparks. The bright blue transparent energy ripples once, then twice, as it violently buckles outward. Energy suddenly explodes outwards from the center, rippling over the entire medbay and those still within it, a powerful EMP pulse sending most, if not all figures into a stasis shock. Traces of the blue energy ripple across all the instruments and wounded, fizzling out about everything in the area... With the hole in the side of the ship, what smoke is caused, is promptly voided. Autobot and Decepticon alike are stunned, shaken, and or simply stasislocked by the desperate plan of action. The Autobots wouldn't be getting much in the way of reinforcements for any further battle on the ship, not until repairs were made...

 Ultra Magnus says, "......Get off...my ship."

Unfortunately Polarity's magnetic-generating abilities do not agree with the electric part of electromagnetic very well. They're really sensitive like that. "Yee-aa-aa-aa tha-aa-aat st-ii-ii-ngs!"

And then to add insult to injury, Astrotrain topples over, crashing into the pack of Seekers and sending them -all- tumbling out of the breech like a big Katamari Decepticony.

The medbay lies in ruins, smouldering from the rigged EMP explosion. Autobots lay wounded and stasislocked, smoke rising up off of them....

MEANWHILE IN A HALLWAY NEARBY...

The doors to the otherside of the medbay open up into a hallway. More laserfire is visible through the doors, revealing the dark form of Soundwave. "GARBOIL, HOWLBACK, ENGAGE." The cassettecons fly forward, a flurry of sonic blasts and lasers, while two more lug a large object behind Soundwave as he reloads his concussive blaster. The Con Communications Officer has boarded the Spirit of Freedom with his tapes. Soundwave blasts off a large vent, leading into the reactor room, and enters. The entire party sliding down into the Spirit Of Freedom's engine room.

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Rumble shows up with Soundwave, but he doesn't pay much mind to his, well, 'cousins', for lack of a better word. He's not particularly close with Garboil or Howlback, and he prefers to keep things that way. "Just lemme know what you want me doin', boss," he states, keeping his guard up in case he needs to throw down some protective cover-fire.

Down in the engine's reactor room, a similarly sized vent buckles under firepower, then is sent flying across the expansive room. Autobot autoguns emerge from their armored housings. The Decepticon assault team, at least Soundwave and his kids, burst out of the vent, Soundwave landing in front with authority on the catwalk.

The reactor room itself is quite large, a giant cylindrical powercore rests in the center of the room, with six smaller hexagonal conduits that ascend throughout the ships superstructure. "CASSETTECONS. SECURE THE AREA." The Tape Commander raises his concussion blaster to one of the turrets, sending several shots at it with his trademark precision, causing it to withdraw temporarily.

Just as he finishes that, a large entry door to the area opens up, letting in a squad of Autobot gumbies, eight in total. Two immediately start climbing the stairs up to the Decepticon's position, as the others start setting up heavier weapons.

"Protect the reactor at all cost! That thing goes critical, we're all doomed!" One crys out, as he takes cover, prepping his rocket launcher...

Blast Off steps through the entrance after Soundwave and his tapes, looking rather annoyed. Mostly this is just because he had to play transport just now, bringing the other Decepticons and their cargo on board. He looks around with a bored, arrogant air. "The last time I did something like this, I got run over by a Dinobot. I do NOT want to go through that again. If you expect a ride OUT of here, that is." His ionic blaster is in hand, and he looks around for a target.

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A tremor runs through the ship, enough to distort audio systems momentarily.

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An enormous roar is heard from the ship's roof, forcing static on both factions comm channels, as another impact is heard.

<<...Jetfire, I need you to change your heading. If Predaking's on this ship, we're going to have to use everything we've got to keep him busy. >>

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<> How exactly did Crusade wind up here? For one, he's pretty good at getting from one place to another really quickly! The white and blue bot stumbles onto the scene, looking frazzled and overwhelmed by everything that's going on. He stares around, twitching a bit at each tremor and explosion. This does not look good...

It was missions like this where some Autobots were kind of here just for the sake of being here, because the big names were likely on the bridge handling communications and other important things that important and popular characters get to do. Leaving other Autobots mainly to be crowd filler, hanging out with other less important characters in the background to provide some life to the setting.

That and everything else changes when the Decepticons decide to be unwanted houseguests.

"Bloody blimey hell and all! Deceptichumps on the left of us, Outback turns to fire his blaster down one side of the corridor. "Decepticreeps to the right of us! He fires down the other direction, then turns to duck back around the corner and put his back to the wall. "And I'm stuck in the middle of it with -you- mate?!" "It's yer own slaggin' fault for insisting on draggin' me off duty!", Gears snapped back, even more irrate than usual. "Just keep them off our backs for a moment."

Outback stepped back out and kneeled down, lifting his rifle up to peer down the scope and open covering fire on a pack of gumbiecons trying to run through. Gears steps up behind him, but instead of pulling a gun kicks his foot air-jets in to launch over the group while they're pinned down and chuck a spherical shape into one of the overhead access vents. Said spherical object hurtles down the shaft until it hits the back wall, where Spindrift uncurls long to kick his back legs against the top of the conduit to reorient himself, and drops down into the vertical passage it connects to, bouncing from wall to wall to keep from hitting terminal velocity from the drop.

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A few minutes later its an ironic echo to the Decepticons' arrival as a different vent grate pops open, dropping Spindrift down into a section of piping. You know, the sort of 8os background mechanical greeble that probably doesn't do much of anything. It does give him a decent vantage point to stick out his head and get a look at what's going on down there though.

Combat: Spindrift sets his defense level to Guarded.

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Turrets continue to open fire on the small Con sabotage team, Soundwave ducks behind one of the large hexpillars for cover, then fires several more shots at the second and third turrets, enough damage to force them to withdraw. They'd auto-repair and be back shortly, but he wasn't going to waste his rockets on fortifications unless he had to.

"GARBOIL, HOWLBACK. OPERATION: VIGILANCE." The two cassettecons start scouring the immediate area, opening fire on the laser turrets in the area. While not the most effective minions, they give him the opening he needs. Soundwave immediately starts typing upon the engine's main console, bringing up schematics as he does. He places a hand to his head, emenating a sonic tone.

From the airvent, a large...device of some sort, filled with wires and sharp bits levitates out close to Soundwave and the reactor, and sets itself down with a gentle whirr of antigrav kicking off. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Soundwave has 'skipped' his action for this round. "You know somethin', Blast Off," Rumble says casually after mortally wounding one of the Autobot gumby guards, "You sound kinda dissatisfied with your job. I always thought you /liked/ bein' a space shuttle." Normally, he doesn't strike up a conversation in mid-ops, but he's a little bit jealous that Garboil and Howlback are getting the gravy work.

The Global Pose Tracker marks that Rumble has 'skipped' his action for this round.

Blast Off looks disdainfully over at Rumble, also shooting gumbies left and right (and rarely if ever missing). "I DO. Being a space shuttle is quite an honor, but of course /I'm/ worthy of it." He looks even more smug, then his expression falls somewhat. "It would be much *nicer* however if I wasn't saddled with mundane transport duties. I have VASTLY better things to be doing in space than lugging YOU lot around." He sniffs, then looks over- just in time to notice Crusade. "Well... well.... look who's here." His weapon is immediately pointed at the Autobot- and fires. Combat: Blast Off strikes Crusade with his Sniper at work attack! [Pulled -3]

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As the Autobots press forwards, cracks of purple energy lance out from Blast Off's position, grieviously wounding one. Two others are killed outright by the sniper and the Cassettecon. The remaining five immediately employ a better known tactic of taking extreme cover and HOPING not to be killed today.

Crusade is greeted by gunfire from the space shuttle who is quickly becoming his least favorite Decepticon ever! He reels from the blast, off-balance and disoriented.

"Go home," he snaps at the Decepticons as he arms himself with his rifle. "The party's over. Get lost - starting with you!"

He returns fire at Blast Off. Sure, he might be facing down some pretty bad odds, but he's not about to back down from his enemies! Combat: Crusade sets his defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Crusade misses Blast Off with his Shoo! attack! [Pulled -2]

Spindrift would radio that he made it down here okay, but seeing Soundwave and his brat pack immeadiately nixes that, at least for the moment. He's got precious little time before Soundwave does notice him somehow, so he's got to make the best of the moment while the big blue-purple snoop is preoccupied with his work. Climbing up on top of the pipes Spindrift scurries along their length as close as he dares to get, trying to avoid getting too close to give himself away. And then Soundwave unpacks the rest of his luggage.

Oh great, he's setting up to drop a figuratively literal F-Bomb on them.

So much for being cautious. Spindrift hops off the pipe, snagging it with his tail to spin around it twice to build up some speed again, and then lets go as he curls back up in his armor. The ping-ping-ping as he ricochettes through the overhead infrastructure is audible, but the odd angles will maybe make it hard to pinpoint the direction before he comes hurtling right down towards Soundwave in an attempt to knock him away.

 Soundwave says, "PROXIMITY ALERT."

Combat: Spindrift strikes Soundwave with his Spinball Wizard attack! [Pulled -2]

With all the different junctions, tubes and shafts criss-crossing this way and that around the ship, it's easy for someone small enough to get from one place to another quickly (As a certain pinball has shown). It's also very easy for someone to get lost in them. Like, say, an over-enthusiastic cheetah cassette.

When the alert to another breech went off, Zipline dived into the nearest engineering shaft that she could find with the intention to get down to the core as quickly as possible while avoiding any eager decepticons. What she didn't take into account was just how messed up things looked when you weren't in the main hallways. So many twists and turns, she's not sure how some of those engineers can handle it! Instead of being first to the scene, she can hear and feel explosions taking place already through the wall while she's just still trying to find an exit OUT of the stupid thing!

Finally, however, she finds an exit port to the tubes. With a growl, little cheetah bot lunges out of an access port set in the side of one of the walls. She hits the ground skidding, claws leaving little trails in the floor as she brings herself to a stop. She twists around, cannon at the ready to blow off some decepticon's face!

... Except that she's facing the wrong way. In her haste, she ended up coming out of the engineering tube's BEHIND the decepticons. And with them already far ahead of her.

"... Um... I... Meant to do that." She turns around quickly, and takes off after them.

Not one to not take the advantage, brief as it might be, Zipline opens fire with a burst of highly charged energy in Rumble's direction as she runs.

Combat: Zipline strikes Rumble with her Hey look behind you! (Disruptor) attack!

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Combat: Rumble sets his defense level to Aggressive.

Rumble startles a bit as he's zapped while his attention is on taking out the gumbies in front of him. He swivels around. "Oh, you again! You still gotta grudge about the railgun? Cause I totally took that railgun," he admits, firing off a series of shots in her direction. "No hard feelin's about that railgun, now." He grins slightly.

Combat: Rumble strikes Zipline with his Pistol attack!

Soundwave hits a key sequence, then using the exact same key he hit earlier for a different purpose, one of the protective housing units surrounding the main reactor starts to withdraw. Overriding the safety protocols was a challenging task, especially in combat. Soundwave steps away from the control panel, towards the Forced Trauma Emitter. He grasps a relay mine from the bomb's core, a saucer-shaped object that helps focus the volatile power of the Emitter. Soundwave pauses for a moment. He turns his head up towards the network of pipes above him, following Spindrift's motions as he bangs around, attempting to confuse the Tape Commander.

Soundwave raises his weapon, anticipating Spindrift's motions, when the tape launches out at him a good .72 seconds before he was ready for him. The concussive attack hits him like a cannonball right in the chest. Soundwave splays out as he is knocked to the ground, right on his aft.

Without missing a beat, he points towards the Cassettebot...one he had issues with already, then calls out a command, "HOWLBACK. ATTACK!"

Within a moment, the Ravage repaint leaps out from the reactor's housing, in a classic pounce at Spindrift! Combat: Soundwave strikes Spindrift with his Howlback on the attack! (Punch) attack! Combat: Critical Hit!

Blast Off watches the Autobot get smacked back with his blast, then deftly dodges as Crusade tries to shoot him back. "Tsk... what was this about me not being able to shoot well, Crusade? Proving you wrong is always so satisfying. And such a shame you can't seem to return the favor..." He leans up against a wall to avoid a laser blast from a gumby, then moves to shoot again. "Lost? Sorry, space shuttles don't get lost.... in fact our navigation systems are to DIE for!" And again he fires a shot. Combat: Blast Off strikes Crusade with his DIE being the key word here (Laser) attack! [Pulled -1]

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Valor has arrived.

Crusade tries to copy Blast Off's smooth dodging moves, but can't manage to sidestep just in time. The laser fire scorches his shoulder, leaving a smoldering burn mark.

"Your puns," Crusade growls, "are just as bad as your personality!" He gives up on trying to match the shuttle shot-for-shot and charges him instead. Time for some melee combat! Combat: Crusade strikes Blast Off with his PUNishment! attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Crusade's risky attack leaves him temporarily incapacitated!

 Warpath says, "I see him, I see him!"

Ping pang crack! Several bullets imbed themselves into Zipline's armor, even as she zags to the left. But she probably should have zagged in this case. A paw stumbles on the ground briefly from their impacts, but it doesn't slow the cheetah's approach more than a quarter of a second.

"What, that old thing?" Zipline scoffs, even as a few sparks sputter from the barrel of her cannon. She keeps approaching, speeding straight at Rumble. Then abruptly, spurs on the backs of her legs flip down and dig into the floor, stopping her nearly on a dime. Remaning momentum causes the extendable barrel on her cannon to slide out and click into place. And barely a second later, there's the tell-tale *TWHOOM* of the cannon, firing a spinning slug aimed right at Rumble.

"Nah, totally forgot about it."

<Autobot> Jetfire says, "He's coming in too fast for you, Transform and move!" Combat: Zipline strikes Rumble with her She didn't Forget About It attack! [Pulled -3]

The hull trembles as something happens elsewhere, the outline of a red Autobot minitank gets smashed right through the reactor room's ceiling, leaving a quite broken up Warpath on the lower level of the room. He groans for a moment, "I said I uh...pow..."

The floor gives way beneath him, sending the minibot further into the ship. "Aww, Kablamm it!"

Spindrift rebounds off Soundwave's chest and bounces once on the deck before unfurling to land on his paws. Unfortunately in all the bouncing about to get the proverbial drop on Soundwave he kind of lost track of his little sidekicks, and the palette swap manages to get the drop on him in return. Spindrift manages to scoot backwards to keep from getting landed on, but Howlback's claws still wack him with enough force to send him tumbling backwards. Fortunately he's an armadillo and not a turtle and doesn't get stuck on his back.

Well now that Soundwave knows they are here, there's little point in keeping quiet on the radio. <<Things are bad in Engineerin'. Soundwave's down here, and he's got a big ol' EMP. Dunno how long we can keep 'em at bay.>>

<<Do what ya dawgs can, shortround. We'll get backup down there fast as we can, but the dance card is gettin' punched fast up here too.>> Jazz glances up from the comm as something thuds -LOUDLY- overhead, causing everyone on both sides of the firefight to pause long enough to look. "Just hope Jetfire can science his way outta the sitch up there, because -that- is shakin' this place harder than a Orleans nightclub durin' Mardi Gras!" A Con tries to jump on top of him, but gets send crashing down the corridor when he's intercepted by a large first, courtesy of the big light blue Protectobot it's connected to. "Jazz, I have no idea what you just said, and I still can tell it was bad." "S'bout sums it up, Hot Spot."

Back in Engineering, realizing they're not going to have much in the way of support for possibly some time, Spindrift makes a quick decision. Instead of smacking Howlback around he turns and scrambles up onto the console, getting as close to the main core as he dares. There he digs in with his claws, slides open the arrays in his shell, and in with an crackle energy spreads out from him to encase around that central column. He can't shield the entire engineworks, but he can at least force Soundwave to work before he can screw with the most important part of the whole ordeal.

Combat: Spindrift creates a forcefield shielding himself from damage.

Valor, down in the ship's armory, tries to tune out the sharp report of laser fire and determine what's going on elsewhere. Getting the general idea of "all hands on deck," he leans out, fires a wild burst from his carbine, forcing the attacking Decepticons into cover. He uses the moment of respite to whip around the armory blast door, close it, and *SLAM* the buttstock of his weapon into the door controls... which causes the secondary blast doors to close. He grins. "Someone's going to be pissed, but at least the Decepticons can't get at the heavy artillery... Time to see what the commotion's all about topside." Just as he finishes quipping, the ceiling next to him collapses, revealing deep space in the background and crisscrossing energy beams in the fore. "That's where I need to be. He jumps up, grabs the edge, and flips himself up on to the deck, transforming into 65 tons of tread-rolling justice as he lands, and sends armor chips flying as he accelerates towards the attacking Decepticons. Valor changes into his M1A2 Tank mode.

Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> sets his defense level to Aggressive.

The Global Pose Tracker marks that Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> has 'skipped' his action for this round.

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Soundwave assesses the situation before him. Spindrift was singlehandedly foiling his assault plans, but of course all forcefield wielders had a very specific weakness. Soundwave's hand clenches into a fist as he considers his options. Howlback, noting his commander's hesitance, eyes Spindrift with disdain, pacing in anticipation.

It would do for the reactor core to be breeched, Soundwave hypothesized, with Blast Off here, the evac'd be swift enough almost assuredly, but there were other factors in play. Yet nothing'd come to pass if he couldn't get past that forcefield. It takes him only a moment to size up exactly what needed done.

The same Emitter relay he held in his other hand, that would help destabilize this entire generator, would do a number on the forcefield. Soundwave does his best imitation of a major league pitcher as he throws the relay emitter at Spindrift wordlessly... Combat: Soundwave strikes Spindrift with his Gadgets good for all occasions! attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Spindrift's forcefield absorbs Soundwave's attack.

Blast Off smirks as his shot hits yet again, then bristles at the insult. "I beg your pardon, I have a *magnificent personal-" He doesn't get to finish his arguement, for Crusade suddenly rushes at him unexpectedly. The shuttleformer isn't keen on close combat and steps away- but the interior location makes it more difficult to fully evade the Autobot. Crusade slams into him, sending the shuttleformer crashing down. "Ooof!" Now wearing several fresh dents, he scrambles back upwards, trying to shove the 'Bot off and away from him. Of course- his strength isn't the best. He's not built for melee. "Get off!" Combat: Blast Off strikes Crusade with his GETOFF! (Punch) attack!

Somewhere offworld, a wet paper bag suddenly receives the inspiration it needed to fight the forces of evil...

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"OUTTA THE WAY CHUMPS!" Ramjet can be heard bellowing as he charges down a corridor and, even without being able to transform inside the ship, his head is still hard enough to slam into a larger Autobot guard and send him sprawling over backwards. "Hah! The bigger you are, the harder I knock ya down!" He turns around towards the other Cons, thrusting his fists in the air. "You guys see that? Took him down with just one headbu--UOOOW!"

And then Ramjet is the one send crashing down the corridor and through a pack of Seeker recolors, courtesy of Ramhorn living up to his name. The rhino-tape shakes his head to dislodge a chunk of Seeker aftplate from his horn. "Dis is our ship. GET OFF," he growls territorially.

"Nice hit bro, but you left a nasty 7-10 split. Eject's optics glimmer at the two Seekers left standing at the ends of the squad when Ramjet crashed into them. Lemme help you clean that up." He holds up his arms and fires his electric overload rifles, shorting out the two nameless soldiers' servos and leaving them to fall over on the rest of the heap. "And the Autobots pick up the spare!"

Crusade is shoved a good distance away from Blast Off, but he's grinning as he climbs upright. "What was that about being unable to land a hit?" he inquires cheekily. "There's more where that came from!"

Without further hesitation, he lunges again, trying to give Blast Off a good slicing with his armblades! Combat: Crusade strikes Blast Off with his Will it blend? attack! [Pulled -3]

Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> trundles across the top of the ship, his treads scratching and scuffing the armor (where it isn't already blasted away by Decepticon fire). Nearing the rear of the ship, where a cluster of Decepticons appear to be guarding the hull breach at engineering, the tank simply charges at them, sending them ducking for cover. A few laser blast *SPTANG* off his armor as the Decepticons attempt to maneuver around him, but Valor just drives into the hull breach, hitting the deck of the engineering section with a resounding *CRASH*, barely missing the hole Warpath tore through the deck. The momentum carries the massive vehicle forward a few meters, and Valor scans the area quickly but unhurriedly. Spotting Rumble spraying the area with laser fire, he muses, "Where there's one little anachronism..." he winces (as much as a tank can) as something smacks into Spindrift, and traces the trajectory back to its origin. "There's bound to be a big one calling the shots." He shifts into robot mode, and charges at Soundwave. "Heads up, you analog throwback!" Valor throws a vicious right hook at the Decepticon communicator's faceplate, hoping to at least get Soundwave's attention and pull some fire off of the smaller Autobots in the area. The M1A2 shifts into the robot form of Valor. Combat: Valor strikes Soundwave with his Punch attack!

The emitter goes off as it slams into the forcefield, sending arcs crackling across the plane of the energy surface as the two forces briefly but violently interact. Sparkles dazzle farther from the point of impact, but the forcefield continues to hold.

Spindrift, knowing he's the only thing standing between the Decepticons and easily disabling the ship at this point, just buckles down, digs his claws in to brace himself, and cranks his dynamos to the max, daring not to put energy into more than the forcefield itself at the moment.

Spindrift does smile when the tank-bot storms into the fight and knuckle dusters the communicator's face though. Combat: Spindrift sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Spindrift takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Did Zipline hear Spindrift say EMP? The little cheetah bot turns her head briefly from Rumble, and her optics focus on Soundwave and the bizarre contraption that he's fiddling with. Aw, slag. Zipline's tail flicks, and she pushes off on the ground quickly, the spurs and the barrel of her cannon flipping back into their original position. She barely gets a couple of quick steps laser fire lances through her midsection. Her concentration breaks briefly, and paws slip out from underneath her to send her toppling over head over paws. Which ends up looking rather comical when she finally slides to a stop on her face.

"Ugh, you you you, it's all about you isn't it," Zipline rolls her optics. She gets her paws underneath her again and rises, tail lashing behind her. "I'm just shooting you 'cause you're a jerk." Simple, really. The cheetah makes a raspberry like sound at Rumble through her coolant system, then before she can get shot up again she takes off again at a run. Straight at Rumble.

And straight past Rumble, trying to lunge on top of and then off again, trying to use him like a speed bump. Combat: Zipline misses Rumble with her Coming through! (Kick) attack!

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Soundwave gets welcomed to the digital age with authority. For the second time this fight, Soundwave is caught off-guard just a moment too long, and pays the price for it. Howlback seeks cover, naturally when the tankbot charges Soundwave, who takes it on the chin. The impact is enough to send him backwards, turning as he does, his hands sprawled out before him as he hits the ground.

He pushes back up to his feet. After all, this is the mech that takes on Blaster...and wins (sometimes), a single sucker punch just isn't going to cut it. He draws himself up, radioing Garboil for some much needed distractions...

Suddenly the Laserbeak repaint swoops by Valor's field of vision, blocking his gaze just long enough for Soundwave to close the distance with a haymaker of a punch, returning the favor. Combat: Soundwave strikes Valor with his Hit you so hard you'll go retro too buddy! attack! [Pulled -1]

"Course it's about me-me-me, honeycakes," Rumble laughs, somehow dodging Zipline's kick. "An' much as I'd love to dance, I gotta job to do, here. So if you'll ex-cuuuuuse me." He gives Zips an oily smile, then suddenly...heads off?

Actually, he's making a beeline toward Spindrift. Looks like he's continuing his defensive push to keep the Autobots off of his 'boss' as much as he can. "Hey jerkface!" Rumble calls to the Spindillo, in a less charming manner. "Let's see how your field holds up to *this*!" He then unleashes all holy heck with both laser-rifles in a Rambo-like barrage. Combat: Rumble strikes Spindrift with his Dual Laser Rifles attack! Combat: Spindrift's forcefield absorbs Rumble's attack.

Blast Off is NOT liking this at all. What the slag, he's usually dodgier than this. And up close and getting PUMMELED is not where he wants to keep getting hit, either. The shuttleformer HUFFFs and tries to retreat further, but instead Crusade slices him with his arm blades. "Gahhhh!" Now getting unsettled, Blast off whips his ionic blaster back around and tries shooting the Autobot right in the face, while backpedaling the best he can. He wants some *distance*, first and foremost. "Lucky strike- but MY strike will not be luck but SKILL!"

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<Autobot> Spindrift says, "Props to whoever that was that just made Soundwave kiss his fist! *laser blasts* Just in time too *grunt* I ain't gonna be able to keep this up ferever." Crusade has taken three strikes, but he's not out just yet! He quickly brings his arms up, protecting his face from the wrath of the ionic blaster, but the shot damages the servos and components beneath his plating. Ouch. He doesn't let it slow him down, and keeps on swinging at Blast Off. The big difference is that his strikes have much less force behind them than before. Combat: Crusade strikes Blast Off with his Armblades attack! [Pulled -3]

Zipline's claws miss their mark, but it doesn't make her stumble when she lands behind Rumble. Her tail flicks and sways behind her, stabalyzing her balance just in time before her back legs come down and push off to send her speeding deeper towards the engineering. "Eat my exhaust, Rumble!" She doesn't even look back to see if he's following her or not.

But he's just the pawn. Zipline has her eyes on the kingpin. She grins when Valor gives Soundwave a knuckle sandwich. But while Laserbeak might be causing trouble for Valor, Zipline keeps her attention on the tape commander. Optics flicker as her sensors scan and analyze Soundwave, effectively doing the job of looking for good places to hit. After Valor's finished with Laserbeak, he'd recieve an series of transmissions from Zipline, outlining a number of what appear to be weak points in Soundwave's armor. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Guarded. Combat: Zipline analyzes Soundwave for weaknesses Valor can exploit.

The barrage of laser fire hits against the forcefield multiple times, causing little plumes of energy with each one as the projectors redirect their charge to prevent any holes from forming. Soundwave gets distracted, but of course one of his punks steps in to fill the gap. Now while Spindrift could certainly handle the Rumble decently in a fight, there's this little matter of having to protect the engine core as well, which means he can't redirect too much energy into trying to drive off attackers.

Weighing the options he has, Spindrift comes to the best middle ground he can find. His gyro is already spinning at vibration speed, so the most efficient course of action is to let that do the work and activate the subsystems that redirect the reverbs into a semi-controllable format.

Though all anyone else sees is Spindrift opening his mouth and focusing a disorienting sonic pulse at Rumble. Combat: Spindrift sets his defense level to Protected.

Valor attempts to deflect Soundwave's riposte, but, distracted by avoiding a flurry of razor-sharp talons, takes a vicious hit to the side of his head. His helmet absorbs some of the blow, but his bell is still rung for a moment. "Ah, Soundwave, it's never one-on-one with you, is it? Always throwing your toys around." Valor keeps his fists up as he shakes his head to clear the artifacts and momentarily shorted out pixels clouding his vision. As it clears, there's one odd item left... Soundwave's tapedeck door seems to be glowing? Valor, grins, feints with another right, and follows it up with a jab aimed right at the Decepticon symbol on Soundwave's chest. "You really ought to keep them in the box!" Combat: Spindrift strikes Rumble with his Disarming Voice attack! Combat: That attack has temporarily mildly impaired Rumble's Agility and Accuracy. (Dizzy)

Combat: Valor strikes Soundwave with his Mint/C10 figure packaging has heavy shelf wear and some dents (Punch) attack!

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Combat: Soundwave compares his Strength to Valor's Strength: Success! <OOC> Soundwave says, "valor, may I pose you punching at me again, since I think that's in your gameplan?"

"Nngh...whoah," Rumble exclaims, bumbling a bit as Spindrift manages to disorient him. "C'mere, you! I'm gonna make you real sorry," he threatens menacingly, lunging not-so-gracefully toward where he last saw Spindrift to try and kick at him viciously. The Tape Commander staggers backwards from Valor. It was...well, admittedly pretty silly to have his structurally weakest area on his chest, especially with the Decepticon emblem on it. He was sure Scorponok could relate to such problems.

For a moment, the Con symbol becomes a purple Autobot emblem, as he steadies himself. He had trouble accessing Valor's file, but made a note to file an addendum that he hit like a Prime, in Valor's report....his *final* report. The Tape Commander stumbles for a moment, feigning another move to lure Valor in. It works.

Valor moves to capitalize on Soundwave's imbalance, throwing a right cross. The master of communications, and Blaster's superior of course, grasps at Valor with both hands, uses his shoulder as a fulcrum, and simply moves to HEAVE the tankbot as far as he can away from the scene. By the time Valor'd return, if he did, Soundwave will have made some much needed repairs. Combat: Rumble misses Spindrift with his A Real Sorry Kick (Kick) attack! Combat: Soundwave strikes Valor with his TH-ROW! attack!

Soundwave hefts Valor a good distance, then points at him, "HOWLBACK, GARBOIL. ASSAULT!" Both cassettecons open fire with their sonic weaponry before Valor can right himself. Combat: Blast Off sets his defense level to Protected.

Blast Off gets hit once more, and now circuity is being exposed and sparks are starting to fly. He is really, really, REALLY not liking this now, and the shuttleformer fires up his anti-gravs and tries launching into the air somewhat, making a large, arcing leap to try and get away. "Back off, you pest!" He continues shooting. Combat: Blast Off strikes Crusade with his NOT my day- not YOURS soon either! (Laser) attack! <Decepticon> Soundwave says, "RUMBLE, BLAST OFF. PROVIDE COVERING FIRE, AND REPAIRS SHALL BE MADE."

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<Decepticon> Rumble says, "Got it, boss!" Crusade smirks as Blast Off takes to the air. The sting of another laser blast hitting doesn't dampen his pride at being able to send a Decepticon running. "That's right, run!"

Unfortunately, his armblades can't reach that far, and there's no way he can leap high enough to catch the shuttle in his damanged state. Crusade switches back to his rifle and takes several steps back, finding a nice corner that he can duck behind for cover when he's not taking shots at Blast Off. He steadies himself, takes aim at the shuttle, and fires. Combat: Crusade sets his defense level to Guarded. Combat: Crusade misses Blast Off with his But my day was going so well : attack! [Pulled -1]

The dizziness must of made Rumble miscalculate because his foot just puts a dent in the console Spindrift has been bracing himself on top of. He glances down for a moment, but there's no time to enjoy the moment really.

He looks up at a much bigger crashing sound resulting from Soundwave chucking Valor across the engine room, and then siccing his miscolored pets on the Autobot while he's down. He takes a moment to consider options, check his reserves, then comes to the conclusion that 1) the important problem is that Soundwave is kept busy and 2) he does owe Valor for coming in at the knick of time to take some of the pressure off. Plus 3) he's not going to have much oppritunity once Rumble recovers.

In the end he does swivel his weapon mounts towards Soundwave, and while he's dialing back from a full priming to try and conserve some power, still fires a couple of penetrator shells at the DeceptiComm. They'll at least be uncomfortable, even at low yield. Hopefully.

Combat: Spindrift sets his defense level to Fearless. Combat: Spindrift strikes Soundwave with his Sapper Charge attack! [Pulled -1] Combat: Critical Hit!

Valor presses his advantage... except it turns out trying to read Soundwave is like trying to see through armor plating. The Autobot goes flying a surprising distance, over a railing and down to the lower level of engineering. Valor takes the fall rather well, keeping his chin tucked and slamming his forearms into the deck, spreading out the impact and leaving dents in the deck. "Breakfall, punk! I've taken harder hits from your cassettes!" He rolls over and pushes up to a runner's starting position, ready to charge at Soundwave again, when he's hit by several more soundwaves. Garboil and Howlback's sonic screams drive Valor to one knee, his hands over his audio sensors. "AAAAAGHHH... like that one!" Gritting his teeth (apparently Wildman's drawing this issue), he transforms, which mitigates the sound and pain somewhat. "Well that got most of his kids' attention... This ought to draw the rest of them." A _totally_ sweet lens flare reflects off the muzzle of the tank's M256A1 120mm smoothbore cannon as it traverses and elevates to settle on Soundwave's silhouette. Inside the tank, the parking brake lever lurches up, but the Abrams still rocks back as the primer ignites, sending a shell at the Decepticon at Mach 2, the shockwave sending dust and debris hurtling throughout the engineering bay and drowning out (for a moment) the two tapes' terrible tumult.

Valor changes into his M1A2 Tank mode.

Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> strikes Soundwave with his M256A1 120mm Cannon attack! [Pulled -6] Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor>'s STUCK attack leaves him unable to transform!

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Combat: Rumble sets his defense level to Fearless.

Swing and a hit! Zipline grins smugly, mentally crossing out that particular weak spot at least for the time being. Paws hit the ground quickly as she speeds past Soundwave, just a yellow blur blasting past him. It also gives her a good view of Valor getting thrown across the room. Ow, that has got to smart.

Zipline stops for a brief second, claws raking on the ground. But it's only long enough for her to readjust her trajectory. Legs untense launching her straight at the two tapes assaulting Valor. "HEY, KNOCKOFFS!" With her impressive acceleration, Zipline is quickly barreling at Garboil and Howlback at near full speed, giving them something else to think about than Valor.

"Hey, HEY!! You listenin' to me? I'm talkin' to YOU. So you better be listenin'. Blaster-loser-flunky!" Rumble transforms his pylons out, and charges at Spindrift angrily. "Fraggin' diode-chewin' moron!! <CENSORED> listen when I'm talkin' to you!!!" The Global Pose Tracker marks that Zipline has 'skipped' her action for this round. Combat: Rumble misses Spindrift with his Piledriver Assault attack!

Soundwave is the Spymaster after all, his attacks are meant to be subtle and filled with misdirection. When one engages Soundwave, one has to be aware of all attacks, not just from the physical body, but the feigned movements as well, AND the fact that the Cassettecons always come into play at some point. Whether the tough-as-steel Rumble, the processor-breaking Frenzy, the wily, explosive Ravage...well, you get the picture. and then there's the attacks on another front, the electric front, that Soundwave is known so well for. He's so infamous for his mindgames that anytime Sky Lynx gets an optical error, he immediately hunts down Soundwave to glorystomp him into submission.

One thing Soundwave is, is tactical. But he's also always in over his head, so it's no surprise that when he steps over towards the end of the railing to see if Valor was indeed out of his way, that the first thing he'd see is a tank shell.

He manages to get his arms up at least, suffering the shell less directly. Soundwave slumps up against one of those hexarrays he was really trying to open, and starts to make some emergency repairs... Combat: Soundwave quickly patches up some of his minor injuries.

GAME: Silhouette has disconnected. Blast Off finally gets far away enough to avoid getting struck- that was going to ruin his day very quickly. Annoyed, the shuttleformer continues hovering, shooting, and trying to maintain distance. "I... wasn't running! I was just... getting a better tactical position!" (Yeah, right.) Combat: Blast Off strikes Crusade with his All perfectly planned out- you see? attack! [Pulled -3]

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. "Keep telling yourself that - ow!" Crusade sticks his head out from around the corner - and gets zapped in the shoulder. Whoops, bad idea! While he's out there, he takes a quick shot at Blast Off in the hopes of getting a little payback. "Why don't you get down here and fight me instead of hiding?" Combat: Crusade misses Blast Off with his Get down from there! attack! [Pulled -1]

Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor>'s engine revs in satisfaction. "Steel on target. Thanks for the assist, Zipline! Now to finish the job." CH-CH-Ch-ch-chhhhhh... CH-CH-Ch-ch-chhhhhh... "You gotta be kidding me." CH-CH-Ch-ch-chhhh... Valor's gears grind in vain; the recoil from his cannon, putting immense stress on his frame, appear to have caused some cogs to misalign. "Well, you go to war with the mode you're stuck in, not the one you want to transform into." Disengaging the parking brake, the tank steamrolls up to the ladder heading to the upper level of engineering... and stops, the turret aiming first down at the bottom rung, then up to where the top rung meets the landing where Soundwave is pulling off some hasty repairs. "Problem framing: Vulnerable ship power core and Decepticons up there, me stuck in tank mode down here. Course of Action Development. COA 1: Attempt to find alternate route. COA 2: Make my own. Course of Action Analysis. COA 1: Head down corridor B36 70 meters, hang a right, use the lift, come back via corridor A36, continue target engagement. ETA: 147 astroseconds. COA 2: Shoot out the floor at Soundwave's estimate location, he falls through. Odds of success: 36... ish? Course of Action Comparison. COA 1: Better tactical position, but time is short and it might give Soundwave enough time to damage or destroy the Decepticons' primary objective, or my fellow Autobots. COA 2: Success means Soundwave falls to the lower level, possibly disoriented. I might get to run him over. Even a miss might at least give me a clear second shot. Possibly disciplinary action for intentionally shooting load-bearing section of a brand-new ship. COA 2 approved. Let's kick it." The massive cannon deliberately aims upward at the ceiling as Valor hopes he's estimating Soundwave's position. "That looks right? I guess?"

KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> strikes Soundwave with his Come on down! You're the next contestant! (Grab) attack! Zipline keeps moving, running straight through Howlback and Garboil, sticking around just long enough to try and catch their attention. Then she's off again, like a little blurr, speeding around the engineering consoles. When she comes back around again, her eyes are seeking her next target to harry. And spots Rumble being his good ole, jerky self towards Spindrift. Zipline smirks slightly, just enough to show fangs.

<<Hey Spindrift, duck!>> Is all that Zipline beams. Then there's a yellow blur, leaping on top of the engineering console. Barely pausing, Zipline lunges right over Spindrift's head. With claws extended, she's aimed to pounce right into Rumble's face. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Fearless. Combat: Zipline strikes Rumble with her SURPRISE KITTY attack!

Spindrift may not be the smartest of Autobots, but when it comes to Soundwave and his brood he at least knows well what he's dealing with. Both in having to capitalize on the few moments you get when it comes to Soundwave, and knowing how much it ticks off certain members of his crew to not be paid attention to. Case in point, Rumble charging back into the fray in a tissy.

Thankfully Rumble is also very loud in doing so and his shouting is more than enough warning to get Spindrift's attention back on him. With a grunt as the tape-con charges he hops off the console and to land on the deck, digging in with his back claws to brace himself.

And opens a hole in the forcefield right in front of him, allowing Rumble's swing with his piledriver to pass through without resistance. Once it's clear it pushes off the deck with his front paws, the driver whiffing just shy of his face as he flips over backwards out of the way and reseals the force bubble.

Little known fact -- Armadillos actually have surprising height to their jumps... It's just that jumping is why they become roadkill when they smash into the bottom of a car.

Thankfully a Zipline intervention gives Spindrift some breathing room, letting him refocus his low power supply back where it needs to be. Combat: Spindrift takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass] <OOC> Rodimus Prime says, "True facts about the armadillo."

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Combat: Soundwave compares his Agility to 50: Failure :( "Whuzzat?? -- Rghggrhgrhrghh!!" Rumble's suddenly flailing around wildly, trying desperately to get the facehugging Zipline dislodged so he can see again, but it's a messy business. "Ggrrt offfff mrrree!!" Combat: Rumble strikes Zipline with his Bedrock Shatter (Smash) attack!

Soundwave pulls himself back up, ready enough to go another round with his habitation suite, er Valor. The energy drain on him had been severe already, and there were still so many people left to shoot. His concern is with Valor still on the prowl, naturally. He was a tank after all. As Soundwave backs up from the railing, the ground gives way beneath him as a tank shell sends him to the lower level. He grasps at the railing in futility, unable to catch the ruined metal before plummeting downward.

Landing in the darker, more moody part of the room, where an assault veteran like him might let his overshield recharge...if he had one, Soundwave puts structural welds between him and Valor. He steps out for a brief moment, bellowing out.... "FOX ONE!"

His pepperbox missile launcher sparks up, firing a powerful tankbuster? missile at Valor. Soundwave quickly ducks back into the shadows, trying to keep ahead of the tank... Combat: Soundwave sets his defense level to Protected.

Combat: Soundwave strikes Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> with his Shoulder Mini-Rocket Launcher attack! Combat: Critical Hit!

Blast Off makes a haughty little *huff* in retort. "I'm not *hiding* Like I said, tactical positioning! Besides, why go down there on the ground with commoners like YOU when I can *soar*?" The Combaticon manages to look extra-smug as he fires off yet another shot. "Now, speaking of running- why don't YOU run before you get yourself killed? Then again, I have yet to see even an OUNCE of sense from you! You would do well to listen to someone as wise and experienced as *I*." Yeah, because the Combaticon shuttle is SUCH a good role model.

Combat: Blast Off strikes Crusade with his Pontificating and Posing (Laser) attack!

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"The higher you are, the harder the fall!" Crusade peers out from behind the corner to return fire, but Blast Off beats him to the punch - or in this case, the shot. It slips just past the heavier armor on his chestplate and hits something fragile and important that promptly malfunctions as the laser scorches it into uselessness.

Crusade finds himself reluctantly taking Blast Off's advice. He ducks back around the corner and starts edging away from the Decepticons, limping and trying to stem the flow of energon spurting from the spot where Blast Off's laser had hit. Combat: Crusade begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Soundwave, Rumble, Blast Off, Rodimus Prime, Zipline, Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor>, and Spindrift

Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor>'s turret tracks Soundwave down. "Huh... wow. Well, a 36 percent chance works out perfectly 36 percent of the time." The tank's engine revs again as it takes off in pursuit of the Decepticon, the cannon and coaxial gun seeking one way, the pintle-mounted machine gun another. "Not so tough without your little friends, are you, Soundwave?" CH-CH-Ch-ch-chhhhh... "*wordless grumble*" The M1 eases around a corner of a pillar, the turret pointing _exactly_ the wrong direction, and a missile blasts right into the side armor of the turret, sending flaming chunks of armor and bits of tank superstructure caroming around the lower level. "Ooof... then again, maybe you are!" The turret tracks towards the origin of the missile, clunking and creaking as it passes over the damaged section of the turret/hull joint. "Cover and concealment, good call. Commendable. But maneuverability renders cover into just a cozy place to get deactivated." The tank's engine screams, and the treads shriek as they bite into the deck plating... and the tank lurches backwards and to the right, the loud engine noise hopefully psyching Soundwave into thinking the tank was going around the other side. As the tank clears the plane of where Valor thinks Soundwave is, the coaxial gun chatters, sending a hail of 30mm shell casings onto the deck and a storm of armor-piercing shells in the (general) direction of the tape commander. Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> strikes Soundwave with his 30mm coaxial gun (Pistol) attack! <OOC> Valor's first sentence is supposed to mean that the tank cannon is pointing at Soundwave the whole time he falls, not that it tracks him down like hunting for him. :P

Spindrift could just sit here and keep his forcefield on the power core. But that's kind of unhelpful when the other Autobots are doing most of the fighting. Certainly he could do something more useful. Especially when Crusade is forced to withdraw, leaving one more Decepticon open to deal with the bomb. Does Blast Off even know how to handle such a thing? Can they really risk otherwise...

... Wait a minute. The bomb has been left there. Maybe a little too close to that hole in the deck, but with Soundwave down below, and the other the Decepticons busy....

While Zipline is wrestling with Rumble Spindrift turns and rolls away, the forcefield blinking off from the central core. Coming to a stop by the bomb, Spindrift grabs onto it with his foreclaws, hopefully to keep it from toppling over into the hole. But as he does so, his forcefield flicks back to life with the remaining energy it has.

This time around himself and the very bomb the Decepticons had intended to use. Hopefully if it falls or otherwise detonates he'll have enough energy left to contain, or at least minimize, the blast... The Global Pose Tracker marks that Spindrift has 'skipped' his action for this round.

Try as Zipline might to keep clinging to Rumble's face, his flailing is much more effective than it looks. The cat scrambles to keep a grip with her claws, even as she's smacked hard by one of Rumble's wildly thrashing fists. It's only by digging them into his armor that she doesn't go flying. At a cost though; One of those fists go flying into one of Zipline's forelegs. There's a crack and a pop, and a shower of sparks as something inside of it breaks, making her yowl in pain.

"Okay, NOW you're annoying me!" Zipline brings her back legs up, paws pressing against Rumble's chest. The hydrolics in them tense, charging; thrumming with the energy that she usually uses for her rapid acceleration. "Time for you to take a TRIP!" At once, she releases her grip with her claws on his face. And at the same instant, she SHOVES down with her hind legs with all of the force of her hydrolics, trying to push him off of the console. With the same force, Zipline backflips away from rumble, and lands on all fours on the console. Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Aggressive. Combat: Zipline strikes Rumble with her Have a nice FALL! (Kick) attack!

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<Decepticon> Soundwave says, "RUMBLE.  INITIATE PLYONS.  DESTROY THE FLOORING."

<Decepticon> Rumble says, "You got it."

Shrapnel hits him in the arm, gouging into his servos. Soundwave was outnumbered here in firepower if not numbers. Still, he had a powerful set of allies at his beck and call, and Rumble was one of the best.

Still trying to slip around Valor as best he can, Soundwave plots and schemes over his faction frequency, trying to work out a win condition. Valor was going to be a factor in this, for better or worse, and he may as well be for better.

Soundwave takes flight, quickly moving towards Valor from the side, trying to flank him. Valor's turret rotation was surprisingly fast it seemed, and he was a fast load as well, if he aimed things right he could use that as well. The Tape Commander flies in fast to Valor, gets atop his turret and tries to pull the tank turret upwards towards the second floor.

If Rumble succeeds in his task as well, things could get dicey for the Autobots... Combat: Soundwave strikes Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> with his Pulling a Kup! (Grab) attack!

When Zipline boots Rumble off the console, he does, in face, plop down onto the other side...but perhaps he meant to do that.

Well, he's doing SOMETHING back there, it's just hard to see what it is...

Suddenly, the flooring begins to shake vigorously. Uh-oh...

Combat: Rumble strikes Zipline with his Earthquake! Area attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Rumble strikes Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> with his Earthquake! Area attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Rumble strikes Spindrift with his Earthquake! Area attack! [Pulled -3] Combat: Spindrift's forcefield absorbs Rumble's attack.

Blast Off ...wouldn't really know how to handle a bomb, no. Nor would he really want to try, either, honestly. No, he's perfectly happy just hovering here, shooting at Crusade. Who then- follows his advice? The Combaticon blinks in surprise. Well, would you look at that.... maybe the Autobot is capable of learning after all. "Alright, I'll give you credit for showing the tiniest fraction of sense." He shakes his head, then turns to look around for his next target.

The Global Pose Tracker marks that Blast Off has 'skipped' his action for this round.

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Combat: Soundwave runs a diagnostic check on Blast Off

+POT Crusade is now observing. Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor>'s turret tracks Soundwave left, and right, and left, and... sticks on a bent support strut. As the Decepticon's servos strain against the Autobot's, Valor's cannon tilts up... and up... and up. "I should know better... I've seen those battle records... But..." A large brass shell casing ejects from the interior of the tank, and another shell locks into the chamber of the massive cannon. "I hope this hurts you a lot more than it hurts me, you derivative piece of junk!" <Brace for impact, Autobots!>

CRACK-THOOOOOOM!

The impeccable engineering of... engineering is no match for two tank shells and Rumble's rumbling, and the whole lower level comes down with a thunderous cacophony! <OOC> Soundwave says, "it's Decepticon confetti! aka: wreckage and shrapnel!" Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> strikes Soundwave with his A Ravaging Buzzsaw of Rumbling Frenzy! This Slugfest is Overkill! Um something something Ratbat? (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> strikes Rumble with his A Ravaging Buzzsaw of Rumbling Frenzy! This Slugfest is Overkill! Um something something Ratbat? (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> strikes himself with his A Ravaging Buzzsaw of Rumbling Frenzy! This Slugfest is Overkill! Um something something Ratbat? (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> strikes Spindrift with his A Ravaging Buzzsaw of Rumbling Frenzy! This Slugfest is Overkill! Um something something Ratbat? (Ruckus) Area attack! Combat: Spindrift's forcefield absorbs Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor>'s attack. Combat: Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor> misses Zipline with his A Ravaging Buzzsaw of Rumbling Frenzy! This Slugfest is Overkill! Um something something Ratbat? (Ruckus) Area attack!

The Good News: since the quake attack wasn't aimed directly at it the forcefield withstands the vibrations rather nicely.

The Bad News: the quake still does a number on the deck itself, and the bomb was precariously close to the hole in the first place. Add to that Soundwave forcing Valor to fire erraticly from below, and not being directly attacked doesn't really matter. The impact against the underside of the deck causes it to lurch upward with the blast as it breaks apart. In short it becomes a moot point if it was the breaking deck or the hole that everything falls down.

Despite prehaps better judgement (or maybe he's been watching too many video files of Wreckers in action) Spindrift -hangs on- to the bomb as it falls through the collapsing deck. "Yeeehah! Slim Pickings, eat yer heart out!"

Though really he's doing so to keep his forcefield on it, so if the fall or the landing does set it off it will still be contained.

The Global Pose Tracker marks that Spindrift has 'skipped' his action for this round.

"Hope you had a nice FALL!" Zipline shouts, peering over the edge of the console at Rumble. "... It's more funny when the humans say it." Someone's been letting the tapebots watch a little too many movies. But then the entire console begins to shake and rattle. Zip starts to slide towards the edge, claws failing to latch on to anything on the console. Then with one final lurch, she's off of it, toppling ungracefully for the floor.

She never hits it though, because before she can, the floor shatters and breaks underneath her. She just keeps falling, toppling for the second floor below.

Zip twists in mid air as she falls, at first to try and get her legs under her so she can land on all fours. But it doesn't quite work like that. With her cannon out, she's a bit top-heavy, so she ends up pointing straight down. At first it looks futile, but it gives her an idea. She angles the cannon slightly, and begins to charge it. It crackles and pops as she draws on all the energy she can in a short amount of time. Then TH-WOOM, she fires the mighty minuature munition. It doesn't send her straight back up, but the gun has enough recoil that it sends her straight at a wall. She twists around just before hitting it, claws digging into the metal. It slows her descent dramatically, but also creates a horrible SCREECHing sound as she slides down.

Too bad for Soundwave that he was right underneath her when she fired that cannon, huh?

Combat: Zipline strikes Soundwave with her BREAKING her fall by breaking you attack! [Pulled -1]

___    ___    _  _   ___   _   _ / __|  / _ \  | \| | / __| | | | | \___|  \___/  |_|\_| |___/ (_) (_)
 * (__  | (_) | | .` | \__ \ |_| |_|

Rumble is in pretty bad shape by the time he 'lands' on the next floor. He doesn't get up for a while... The Global Pose Tracker marks that Rumble has 'skipped' his action for this round.

<Decepticon> Soundwave says, "OUR WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY HAS BEEN CLOSED.  THIS FIGHT SERVES NO FURTHER PURPOSE." <Decepticon> Soundwave says, "DRAW BACK FROM THE FIELD." <Decepticon> Blast Off says, "Understood."

<Decepticon> Rumble says, "Right...headin' off now."

Debris and detrius clang and clatter over Soundwave and Valor, The Tape Commander shielding his head a little as it happens. It was a risky gambit, and while moderately successful, he was really hoping for a more significant advantage.

The timetable for the assault was passing him by as he fought. With a brush of his arm, Soundwave pushes a girder off from atop himself, and flies up out of it. "GARBOIL. HOWLBACK. RETURN." He glares menacingly at the Autobots there, as the two extra minions transform into their tape modes, reentering his cracked chest cavity. "RUMBLE, BLAST OFF. FALL BACK." Firing a few warning shots in his wake, Soundwave grumbles to himself as he returns to the same vent the Cons had burst in through initially. This fight was lost, but there was so much more to do..... Combat: Soundwave begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Blast Off, Zipline, Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor>, and Spindrift

Blast Off huffs a little, but is perfectly fine with doing as told this time. He'd really rather NOT have to try planetary reentry riddled full of holes, thank you very much. The shuttleformer retreats, grabbing Rumble as he goes (hey, at least Rumble can appreciate some good wine) and then transforming once he reaches the exit and allowing the others to load up before rocketing off. Combat: Blast Off begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Zipline, Black and Blue M1A2 Tank <Valor>, and Spindrift