The Zarbadon Generator

Summary: Galvatron orders Cyclonus to take a team of Decepticons to gather the next piece of his doomsday puzzle. Now with bonus creepy Boomslang action! :v

Slamming the hatch shut hard enough to make it bounce on its gaskets, Fusillade bobs briefly beside the Absolution, before kicking off the hull, and slipping into something a bit more comfortable.

Fusillade leans forward, wingblades whipping out to their full span, even as her arms lock backward in place as the rear fuselage. Her torso folds out to the become the cockpit of a space capable B-1R Lancer, ready for flight!

Boomslang, not being a spacer, hangs onto the airlock railing and swings his legs back towards the hull as he vaults over the edge of the hatch. His feet silently affix themselves magnetically to the hull of the ship, holding him fast.

Impactor starts hitting random buttons from inside Jetfire, forgetting for the moment he's riding inside of a sentient spacecraft. "Why tha 'ell isn't this blasted ship banking to the ... oh right." Relaxing back, the Wrecker leader kicks his feet up on the consoles. "Hurry it up techie, that distress call sounded serious!"

The compact robot mode of Redshift spills out into space, clearly very comfortable in zero-gravity, and transforms into his sleek spacecraft mode. Thrusters firing, he careens away from the bulky Absolution.

Hearing another distress call from yet another planet he's never heard of being attacked by the Decepticons, Jetfire has taken to the black with a group of Autobots he could quickly round up. The 'space fighter' is filled with various Autobots ready to defend some unknown aliens. The white and red spacecraft breaks out of FTL drive and opens up the scramjets to fly towards the planet of Zarbodon.

Inside his body, he responds to Impactor, "You do realize those controls are disabled unless I am unconcious or I unlock them?"

Decepticon Starship  is unleashing a furious storm of laser fire down on the planet, just as the distress call warned. Most of the shots appear to be carefully avoiding a particular spot on the ground, though--a massive fusion plant, which Decepticon troops are streaming down towards even now!

Air Raid is far too occupied with his mech-sized DS to notice much else. He snorts at Impactor, looking up, "Wreckers ain't known for their smarts, Jetfire."

Starfighter  launches from the Absolution and takes position along the Decepticon flagship. His sensors are scanning the planet below them, "They are moving their troops...I detect nothing that can be a threat for us." He slides away from the Absolution as it opens fire. "Get ready to land and secure the area as soon as the Absolution ceases fire."

With an additional set of four mod-pod styled rocket boosters strapped to her rear fuselage, Fusillade pours on the solid rocket boosters, breaking ahead of Cyclonus and his knot of soldiers. She plunges towards the planet, aiming for the lightning flashes induced by the massive dust clouds raised by the Absolution's orbital bombardment. She times her descent pattern to a spiral path on the left inside of the bolts that continue to spew from the warship, pale cyan Saint Elmo's Fire wreathing her from static generated by the friction of her entry.

"And you aren't known for your tact, Raid," Patchwork pipes up from where she rides along with the other Autobots, eyeing Air raid before she grins.

 Galvatron says, "Be wary, the planetary defense forces should be no threat, but the Autobots may meddle with my plans, as they always do!"

Impactor grins wide, allowing the femme medic to defend him from the Aerialbot's failed verbal assault. "Oh, yeah. I knew that Jetfire." Mr. Purple-pants leans forward, trying to ascertain what the read outs are signifying from the console. "What's our ETA?"

"Aye aye, Sir," Boomslang radios back, unlatching a large dish-shaped object like a medieval shield from where it hangs beside many others on the side of the ship. "Deploying orbital drop shield." He unlocks himself from the hull and kicks off towards the planet's surface, drifting downwards under the gravitational pull. A deft spin and Boomslang snaps his feet into the concave surface of the shield, crouches down and pulls the ripcord. Four solid rocket boosters around the perimeter of the shield fire, blasting him down into the atmosphere like a meteor, flames roaring up around the shield's heatproof surface as he remains balled up in its shadow.

"Can the banter, Autobots." Jetfire quickly emits inside his body. Jetfire begins to scan the projected fire from the Absolution and fills in his occupants. "It appears they are trying to isolate a fusion power plant on the planet. That must be their objective. I should be able to fly through the barrage and get us to the power plant. The Absolution isn't my concern if we keep our distance. Its the Decepticons."

Jetfire pauses for a moment. "Impactor, we will hit atmo in 1 minute. Everyone ready to do a high altitude drop onto the battlefield?"

Dreadwind exits the ship but waits patiently he's not exactly designed for space, not on his own anyway, the others can clear the way he'll atempt planetfall if any of them survive the initial assault.

Hot on Fusillade's tail, the red and black ship with the curved wing blasts down towards the planet's surface- Specifically towards the site where the warship's laser batteries are focused on that boring planet's boring surface. He doesn't need any sissy rocket boosters or heat shields either, high speed reentry is one of his many strong suites. <> Redshift transmits as he dives downwards, cutting through the atmosphere like an arrow.

Boomslang calmly checks his munitions one more time as he takes the bumpy ride down through the thermopshere. The rockets fizzle out in the mesosphere, but he doesn't need them anymore by that point. "Well," he radios back thoughtfully, "if I'm lucky some slimy little alien family down there will get a twelve-ton white-hot heatshield in their lap for breakfast."

Air Raid only smirks at Patchwork, and gazes out the nearest viewport, growing anxious. "Yeah Jets'," he replies, subspacing his handheld to crowd the hatch. "Hurry it up, c'mon c'mon."

"Roger that Jetfire." Impactor replies, actually strapping himself in for this portion of the ride. "Echo that command, Autobots ... Lock and load, be prepared for immediate deployment." The light tone and joking banter are gone from his voice and manner, it appears this Wrecker means buisness today.

Boomslang watches the altimeter built into the back of the reentry shield. It emits a high-pitched squalling alarm as it passes fifty thousand feet, the altitude at which Boomslang can fly under his own power, and detaches from his feet with an audible bang. The shield splits into four equal pieces, flaking off heat tile, which go spinning down towards the planet as Boomslang himself transforms and ignites his engines, roaring down towards the planet's surface and the target zone.

Starfighter  accelerates to follow Fusillade, making sure to remain out of the Absolution's line of fire all the time. He quickly detects the arrival of Jetfire and transmits to all the Decepticons, "The Autobots are here. Dispatch the local force as swiftly as possible before they get the chance to interfere." Following his own orders, he dives towards the ground disintegrating two alien craft of his way down.

With the usual ratcheting sound, Boomslang spins and flips and turns into a fighter jet.

From Zarbodon, Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Protected.

From Zarbodon, F/A-18 Super Hornet  adjusts his control surfaces for minimal radar cross-section as he comes in, casually dodging anti-aircraft fire.

Dreadwind watches the others as they zoom off together and he is left behind alone as always to fend for himself, as they become red dots entering the atmosphere Dreadwind finishes his calculations and pushes himself away from the ship a mixture of inertia and gravity will do the rest of the work. He may be unable to move of his own accord in space but he is built to endure both it and reentry.

Zarbodon

''An utterly boring and bland alien planet, with little to seperate it from various other generic alien planets. Some of the backgrounds might have been recycled from previous episodes--er, they look *familiar,* that is.''

F/A-18 Super Hornet  swoops down towards a line of anti-aircraft guns, rolling around a missile which rises towards him and detonates harmlessly against a flare as he shreds the launcher with autocannon fire.

Cyclonus demonstrates great wisdom in not announcing WHICH Autobots are responding. In the meantime, Bouquets of orange and yellow sparks blossom along the periphery of the power plant. "Huh, looks like some of the orbital strikes have severed many of the transmission lines from this place," Fusillade remarks as she completes her first low-level pass, depending on speed and the low-level penetration to remain relatively undetected by the aerial defenses. She begins savaging a radar control station, before tracking back and detonating several transformer substations.

Red Spaceship 's thin profile slices through the atmosphere, trailing smoke as he blasts towards the surface. He banks sharply off to one side to avoid getting clanged by Boomslang's heatshield, and continues to descend through the ionized air. A stunning scene, as the intense barrage of energy lance down from space, splitting the air as they blast the planet's surface. Little flying saucers with police sirens buzz around, and Redshift decides to have some fun flying circles around the pitiful defenses.

Contrails ripple off of Boomslang's leading edge wing extensions as he hauls his nose around towards a thudding AAA emplacement and blasts towards it, raking its crew with his gun before transforming just long enough to grab the barrel and spike the gun with a grenade tossed down inside. He leaps away and puts his back to the retaining wall of one of the substations Fusillade demolished as the AAA gun explodes and retaliatory fire from the next gun down the line bursts colorfully where he was just moments ago.

The F-18 produces that distinctive transformation sound as it flips around and pops out limbs to assume a humanoid shape.

A Zarbodonian National Guardsman grits his teeth as he aims a portable anti-air missile launcher upwards at the Decepticons. He is certain that he will not survive this encounter, but nevertheless, he must fight, for if he does not, who still stop the depradations of the evil machines? Who will stand between them and his spawnlings? Who will--

"OH CRAP LOOK OUT... IN AMERICA!"

That is the last thing the Guardsman hears before a red, white, and blue object lands on him, culminating in an explosion.

Air Raid doesn't wait for Jetfire to finish opening the hatch; he kicks it and leaps straight out, performing several flips before leveling and transforming. "YEEHAW! A'ight! Lessee'..." His attention goes to the Lancer first. "I'll take the jet babe!" he announces to anyone who cares to listen, tearing towards Fusillade with weapons trained. No firing yet; he simply circles above.

Air Raid shifts and twists, pieces sliding into place to form his F-15 Eagle mode.

Impactor is second out of the door, what kind of Autobot throws himself out of a perfectly good spacecraft? A Wrecker, that's who. Plummeting towards the planet's surface with a tremendous amount of speed building up by the nano-click, the Wrecker leader spreads out his arms and legs ... attempting to allow drag to slow him until it's safe to pull the parachute.

Combat: Impactor sets his defense level to Neutral.

Fully realizing what the target is, Jetfire makes a run towards the power plant. As the space transport nears the ground, he transforms and fires the scramjets to soften his landing. The Air Guardian lands and pulls out his particle beam cannon. Looking down at the aliens, he mentally pulls out his translation program and attempts to warn the Zarbodonians (sp?) of what the Decepticons are after: "The Decepticons want the power from your fusion power plant. Anything mobile needs to be pulled back to defend it."

Wanting to make his presence known, Jetfire stands out in the open as he prepares to fight. He brings his cannon's shoulder brace up against his shoulder and begins mental checks on all his hi-tech equipment... it won't blow up in his face this time. Right. Right?

Combat: Jetfire sets his defense level to Aggressive.

Super Veritech Fighter  transforms into his Jetfire mode.

Patchwork is not nearly as graceful as most of the others...but she jumps just after Impactor. Much like the last time she went on a mission with the larger 'bot, the Medic follows his lead, arms and legs spreading.

Starfighter  flies at high speed over the Zarbodonian defenses dropping a bomb from time to time but mostly ignoring them as he heads towards his objective, the main orbital canon. The AA guns fire at him but the cybertronian starfighter is too fast and they can't get a lock on him. It takes him only a few seconds to reach his target. Raising above it, he drops two incendiary bombs on it and it a burst of flames, the orbital canon is gone.

 Sex on Pipecleaner Legs! Fusillade says, "WHOA wait WHAT?!"

 Redshift says, "Um, what?"

 Sex on Pipecleaner Legs! Fusillade says, "Something AWESOME!"

Boomslang flicks up the scope on his coilgun and shoulders it, peering up at the dots falling out of Jetfire. "Commander, those crazy NAFODs the Wreckers are here. At least one of 'em, anyhow. Enemy jet might be Broadside, if it's not one of the Aerialbots."

Boomslang takes rapid aim and tries to put a hypervelocity slug through the jet to see who it is.

Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Neutral.

Combat: Boomslang strikes F-15 Eagle  with his 20mm Gauss Rifle attack! [Pulled -2]

Air Raid's signature pops up on her proximity alert, and Fusillade hmmms to herself. She slows, and starts to climb, showing some aggressive moves toward a dogfight with the F-15. Air Raid, was it? A flash of white and red, however, catches her attention, and the bomber tumbles over herself in midair. Low pressure condensation clouds puff up from her wings and fuselage, and she nearly barrels over Air Raid, as if not seeing him. Igniting afterburners, she swings toward the center of the power plant, and then half-barrel rolls, aiming to clip Jetfire on the back of the head with her wingtip. "HIIIIIIIIIIIIII! I missed you!"

Combat: Fusillade sets her defense level to Aggressive.

Combat: Space-Going B-1R Lancer misses Jetfire with her WHY HALLO THAR (Punch) attack!

Americon stands up amidst flaming wreckage, coughing. "Hey, guys? I think I got shoved into a missile bay by accident or something! I don't think I was supposed to be here--" He looks around to see a planet in flames! "Woah! This is NOT America!" Approaching another guardsman, he says, "Excuse me, sir, where exactly am I?" However, his queries are returned only by the alien's assault rifle fire, which is hefty enough to dent Americon's chest! "OW! Now, I believe in the second amendment, but your right to shoot bullets stops where they hit me in the face, sir!" Americon says, and fires back at the generic alien, who is disintegrated in one blast! "That's how you do it!"

Dreadwind's depressingly slow solo planet fall technique allows him the time to see the devastation caused by the initial bombardment, the lives that are now gone and the suffering of the survivors, it doesn't move him in the slightest. His body warms during reentry but inside there is nothing but the lonely cold, on breaking through to flyable atmosphere Dreadwind transforms his body a dull red glow, cooling slowly as he heads steadily for the target of the Decepticon offensive.

Dreadwind leans forwards allowing his body to fall towards the horizontal as his chest flips upwards concealing his head, while his legs pivot and his arms join to form the lower fuselage, to reveal a deadly F-16 Falcon.

Redshift makes several quick aerial moves, feinting one way and flying another, until the pair of wimpy little flying saucers collide with each other, sending fiery scrap raining down on the impromptu warzone below. The agile ship weaves among the incoming defensive fire, seeking out a suitable target. His sensors spot the purple and gold leader of the Wreckers, a suitable adversary for Redshift's over-hyped combat prowess. He transforms into his robot mode, rifle in hand, and begins firing wildly at Impactor, with a barrage of plasma bolts.

The sleek red spacecraft transforms into the winged warrior Redshift.

Combat: Redshift strikes Impactor with his pewpewpew attack! [Pulled -4]

Slowing his 'descent', Impactor pulls the cord on his pack sending the parachute billowing out behind him. He's suddenly lifted up for only a moment, then begins swaying left and right towards the ground. The Decepticon spacecraft comes up on him from what appears out of nowhere, the Wrecker furiously tugging on the left strap to glide out of the way of the incoming attack. It doesn't work however, and he's soon shot to crap ... no chance of escape. Before he zooms past, Impactor pulls the pistol from his boot-holster and fires off a couple of desperate shots at Redshift.

Combat: Impactor misses Redshift with his Desperate counter-attack (Pistol) attack!

F-15 Eagle  gets nailed by Primus knows what on his fuselage. "Ow! Frag!" He grumbles inwardly. Raid /never/ gets the targets he wants. Reluctantly, the Eagle circles around to set his sights on Boomslang. Noticeably less 'fine' than Fusillade. Damn. With nothing snide to say, he fires off a missile or two, then makes an attempt to lead the Hornet away from all the action, coasting over head.

Combat: F-15 Eagle  strikes Boomslang with his Heat-Seeking Missiles attack!

A lot of action is going on around him, but Jetfire hasn't actively gotten involved yet. The Air Guardian continues to point out things for the aliens to do to firm up their defenses. "I don't care if you don't want to flip over your vehicle... it doesn't have any weapons and it would provide you with cover. You need any cover you can get." Jetfire shakes his head as the alien argues. Finally, Jetfire reaches down and flips the vehicle over himself. "Get behind it and defend yourself."

Jetfire looks up to view the chaos and sees a viable target... And one arrives. The Air Guardian drops his armored faceplate down and looks through the red visor down the sights of his rifle looking to put a particle beam into Dreadwind.

Combat: Jetfire misses F16 Falcon <Dreadwind> with his Single Particle-Beam attack!

Patchwork reaches to pull her own chute when she sees Impactor doing the same, her own sudden slowing keeping her well out of the way of the shots fired at the Wrecker. Not that she's entirely thrilled, all the same. She pulls out her own pistol, taking quick aim before firing at at the decepticon spacecraft. "Not nice! Leave him alone!" Because those instructions are always listened to, you know!

Combat: Patchwork misses Redshift with her Pistol attack!

Whoosh, bang! A missile comes swerving back down the plasma trail of Boomslang's shot, detonating on the substation wall behind him and sending him flying. He rolls up onto his feet in the rubble-strewn street looking a little charred, yellow eyes fixed on the high-flying target. Predictably, he takes the bait, launching into the air and giving pursuit as he tries to lock one of his own air-to-air missiles onto Air Raid!

With the usual ratcheting sound, Boomslang spins and flips and turns into a fighter jet.

Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Guarded.

Combat: F/A-18 Super Hornet <Boomslang> strikes F-15 Eagle <Air Raid> with his AIM-9X Sidewinder attack!

Americon somehow catches on fire and spends several minutes of the battle screaming at the top of his lungs as he runs around and catches other things on fire. "Why does this always happen to me!?"

Even in his robot mode, Redshift has the flying skills to avoid a desperate shot from the hip from Impactor. laser fire from the planet's poorly mobilized defenses still lances up from below, but Redsift is presenting a fairly small, not to mention fast, target. Impactor, however, is a sitting duck. "Well well, what have we here?" Redshift quips, flying around the Wrekcer and his flimsy-looking parachute. "It sure is a long way down, be a pity if I were to destroy your parachute!" He adds, and levels his weapon at Impactor again, this time in it's FLAMETHROWER setting. Big gouts of flame shoot out, uncontrollably spewing all over the place.

Combat: Redshift sets his defense level to Aggressive.

Combat: Redshift misses Impactor with his Flamethrower attack!

Starfighter <Cyclonus> doesn't waste anytime once the orbital canon is destroyed. The Decepticon second in command starts to circle around the reactor, destroying all the alien forces around it and letting the other Decepticons taking care of the Autobots...unless one of them makes the mistake to interfere with his work. He then radios the Absolution, "The alien forces around the reactor are now minimal. Fire at the following coordinates to complete the "digging work" around it."

F16 Falcon <Dreadwind> didn't want to be here in fact he didn't want to be cannoned earlier either but no one cares a whit about him, the only one who does is death itself and he prefers to walk alongside rather than help in the slightest. Flying along mindinfg his own business on the way to the target, the action comes to him as a beam of energy slices right across his nsecone barely missing him, "I knew this was just going to get worse and worse." Angling himself over he heads down towards where the weapons fire had come from, "There is only death and suffering here, for us all!" Energy flows to his weapon systems and lances down towards Jetfire.

Combat: F16 Falcon <Dreadwind> misses Jetfire with his Thermal Melters attack!

<Decepticon> Boomslang says, "Fox two! It's definitely Air Raid."

<Decepticon> Redshift says, "Air Raid? Pff, he's a total wimp"

<Decepticon> Cyclonus says, "Don't toy with him. We're here for the reactor."

Pulling up hard after the failed swipe, Fusillade climbs for some time, sizing up the ongoing dogfights in the nearby airspace. Hrn. She swings back around to rejoin Cyclonus, and begins to assault the walls of the generator warehouse. Those eventually crumble and collapse. Fusillade transforms, and plunks back down on the ground, propping her goggles up on her forehead as she strides in. She hooks fingers to snatch up interfering piping with her hand, flinging them aside and ending barrels and workers scattering. Soon, the resonant thrum of a large, powerful source of power makes itself heard through all the blaring klaxons and beeping alarms indicating system failure. "Ah, here we go," she grins, lacing hands together and rocking back and forth on her heels.

The sleek bomber rears up, wings collapsing onto hips even as the rear fuselage splits to form arms. The horizontal stabilizer slides up, the forward fuselage folds up accordian style, and Fusillade hops up on thrustered feet.

Combat: Fusillade sets her defense level to Neutral.

From high above, the Absolution slowly drifts into view, just low enough in the atmosphere to be visible. It angles its beam weapons towards the reactor, and fires--but the beams don't hit the reactor itself, but rather, the ground around it. The lasers bore a hole into the rock, and the ship slowly begins to circle around the reactor as plasma blasts out of the impact point.

<Decepticon> Redshift says, "i'm not toying with him. I'M toying with Impactor."

<Decepticon> Boomslang says, "Are you telling me to break off the engagement, sir?"

<Decepticon> Cyclonus says, "It doesn't matter. Finish them all.  This will please lord Galvatron."

<Decepticon> Cyclonus says, "No. I want you to disable him as fast as possible."

Impactor looks upon Redshift, and the impending flamethrower attack. "Aww crap...this is gonna hurt." the Wrecker leader mutters, pulling the cut cord from the front of the pack ... allowing him to conviently miss the jutting flames. "Didn't figure you for a Flamer Redshift!" However, it also conviently allows him to freefall the rest of the way. Without a moment's hesitation, Impactor attaches the harpoon hand and fires up at the Decepticon, hoping to ensnare him and jack a ride at the same time.

Combat: Impactor sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Impactor strikes Redshift with his You're such a Hook er ! attack!

<Decepticon> Boomslang says, "Aye aye."

F-15 Eagle <Air Raid>, pleased Boomslang has taken the bait, cackles for a good moment before searing pain lights up his left wing. "Yeeagh!" This guy could /bite/. "OKAY PUNK!" Plant forgotten, Raid tilts up and loops, diving down towards the Hornet for a ram to the wing.

Combat: F-15 Eagle <Air Raid> strikes F/A-18 Super Hornet <Boomslang> with his Ram attack!

Patchwork isn't quite brave enough to cut her own chute, and so the medic simply continues her slow, steady decent. And her shots towards Redshift. Grinning as she sees the attack from IMpactor on the Decepticon, she calls down to the Wrecker, "Make him crash!"

Combat: Patchwork misses Redshift with her Pistol attack!

<Decepticon> Sex on Pipecleaner Legs! Fusillade says, "I'll work on knocking off the walls and roof from around the central reactor."

<Decepticon> Cyclonus says, "Excellent initiative. Just make sure to not be caught within the Absolution fire."

<Decepticon> Sex on Pipecleaner Legs! Fusillade says, "It's kinda loud and shaky in here, but I think I can pull it off."

Jetfire was lucky that at the same time he bent over to flip the vehicle Fusillade was making her flyby attack. Underneath his armored faceplate, the Air Guardian frowns when he misses Dreadwind. Knowing what is coming next, he quickly dives away from the returning attack.

As Jetfire rolls over, he comes back to his feet and sees Fusillade doing damage and scaring the workers. He shouts, "We met again, Fusillade. I don't suppose I can get you and your fellow Decepticons to leave?" Frowning, he looks again for Dreadwind, hoping he can keep Fusillade talking... he seems to have a way with her. Jetfire just keeps moving to avoid letting Dreadwind get a freebie attack on him.

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

The end of Boomslang's starboard wing shears off as Air Raid swings around and unexpectedly crashes into it, sending the seeker spiraling out of control with a surprised cry of "Fox four!" (the sarcastic call signal for a mid-air collision) He manages to transform before running out of sky, but no one sees him hit.

The F-18 produces that distinctive transformation sound as it flips around and pops out limbs to assume a humanoid shape.

Combat: Boomslang activates his cloaking field and vanishes from sight!

Starfighter <Cyclonus> transforms and lands on the top of a hill from where he can watch the fight AND oversees Fusillade's work around the reactor. A cloud of dust rises from the ground as he lands. A tank tries to sneak on him behind his back but Cyclonus just points his gun at it and quickly disable it with a single shot from his laser. Opening a frequencies to the Absolution, he transmits, "Everything is proceeding according to your plan my lord."

The starfighter unfold into the robot form of Cyclonus.

It seems steadying himself to try a risky attack has NOT paid off for Redshift, Not only did his wild flames MISS, but Impactor has got him hooked. The moral of the story? Don't make fun of a Wrecker's parachute. Redshift struggles to rip the harpoon from his torso, but it's stuck good. He manages to duck his head away from the other Autobot's second pistol shot, but he needs to get rid of Impactor, and QUICK. Flipping up into his spacecraft mode, the harpoon still deeply imbedded(but now in his foward fuselage), Redshift makes a desperate dive towards the ground, hoping to dislodge his unwanted passenger.

Redshift transforms into his sleek spacecraft mode and takes to the air.

Combat: Redshift sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> strikes Impactor with his Full Speed Ahead attack! [Pulled -1]

"S'not like I'm GRABBING them!!!" Fusillade shouts back over her shoulder at Jetfire, out loud to be heard over the din of the Absolution's laser blasts around the plant. She hasn't quite brought herself to turn around yet, not even daring to look at him as she busies herself sizing up the angle and vector for a hit at the upper cornice of the warehouse that stores the central reactor. "Hnn. If I crack those first, and then it could slide to the... yeah, I can do this." With tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration, Fusillade fires off a set of plasma caster shots, weakening the structure of the building, and then flies up -- and CRACKS quite loudly against the ceiling. "OW!" However, the corrugated metal begins to shudder, and with a shriek of rending support beams, the roof begins to teeter and slide away, revealing the night sky and the still-descending nard light beams of orbital bombardment.

<Decepticon> Boomslang says, "He hit me! That no-load crashed into me! What an unprofessional bunch of grabasstastic gash..."

F16 Falcon <Dreadwind> misses, not that he expected any better from himself, the day was going bad enough already no need to make it even worse by being effective, then again even that is out of his hands pain will find him no matter what. As if to prove him wrong there is no further serious fire sent in his diresction, which probably means he'll be hit by something even bigger the next time. Still he's been forced to engage the enemy now, so he might as well carry on pressing the attack on the fight happy Autobot, "Run, dodge, hide, there is nowhere that you can go to escape the inevitable Jetfire, death has come and we all will partake of the suffering."

Combat: F16 Falcon <Dreadwind> strikes Jetfire with his Rapid-fire Machine Gun (Pistol) attack!

Americon just burns for a while. Yeah's he's not being very useful on this job. :(

F-15 Eagle <Air Raid> double checks his optical sensors; what the-? "Hey," He descends to glide low over the alien planet's surface, scanning everything within range. "Hey..." Circling a few times, he grows frustrated. "HEY! Where'd the fat jet go! ...This sucks." The Absolution catches his attention. <<Sir, what should we be focusing on here?>> he radios Jetfire.

Combat: F-15 Eagle <Air Raid> takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

<Decepticon> Galvatron says, "Excellent, Cyclonus. I'm sending down the grapnels. Make sure they are properly secured to the reactor!"

<Decepticon> Cyclonus says, "As you wish my lord."

Patchwork erks softly as she quickly shoves her pistol away just before landing, which is about as graceful as her initial free fall. Stumbling to her knees, the medic is quick to get out of the strings that attach her to the material that lands behind her on the ground. "Everyone okay?"

Combat: Patchwork takes extra time to steady herself. [Pass]

The Wrecker leader throws up a fist in succes, even going as far as saying "Boo YAH!" Then Redshift transforms, and flies straight down. This is obviously a contingency Impactor didn't plan on. "Oh SH.." *BWAAAKOW* The impact cuts him off midsentence and sends him barreling down towards the surface, yet only one problem remains unsolved. The hook is still firmly attached. Like a Yo-Yo, he's bounced right back upwards before he can sever the harpoon's connection.

Combat: Impactor misses Red Spaceship <Redshift> with his Boing-Smash (Smash) attack!

The Air Guardian shakes his head as Fusillade ignores him. A blast from the Absolution cuts Jetfire off from being able to deal with her at the moment. Jetfire sighs and transforms back into his space fighter mode deciding to deal with mister morbid.

The red, black, and white fighter takes flight and begins making adjustments in flight traveling after Dreadwind. "I have been to vast places in the universe, Dreadwind. And nothing has proven to me that something is inevitable. I should have died when I crashlanded on Earth so long ago." Then, a missle is released from Jetfire's pylon towards the mergable jet fighter.

Jetfire transforms into his Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire> mode.

Combat: Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire> strikes F16 Falcon <Dreadwind> with his Armor-Piercing Missiles attack!

Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet <Quickswitch> comes in minding the backside of the Autobot line, using hightech VTOL verniers and space-jets, the enormous brick-like space-jet slowly descends to a hovering position "Yeeehaw!" Comes the cowboy like american accent of Quickswitch the fighter pilot, "I'm okay if you're okay so we're okay."

The jet rotates with a splash of dust and flurry of aerodynamic propulsive energies, turningto launch phosphourescent tracer bullets towards the Decepticon construction project. "Our enemies as usual, are not will not and shall never be. Lock and load. Stay safe Patchwork, and jump on if you want a ride." Quickswitch slowly lowers his nose so someone could easily straddle it.

Combat: Quickswitch sets its defense level to Guarded.

Boomslang stalks through a dim grey world only he can see, taking a moment to kick petulantly at a pile of alien bodies and curse as only a Navy jet can. He unhooks his rifle from the hardpoint he stores it on and chambers a nickle-iron slug, clambering quietly over ruins until he has a line of sight on Air Raid again. With his bipod propped up on a half-crumbled wall, Boomslang grimaces behind his scope. "...teach you to crash into me, gonna ventilate your hat locker, loadtoad..." he whispers to himself as the gun's capacitors charge up with a soft whine. Boomslang's finger lovingly squeezes the trigger like it was his girlfriend's hand.

Combat: Suddenly, Boomslang appears out of thin air!

Combat: Sneak Attack!!

Combat: Boomslang strikes F-15 Eagle <Air Raid> with his It Is A Hard Heart That Kills attack!

At this point the Absolution has moved into position directly above the fusion reactor. From its bowels, extremely long and thick-looking cables with nasty, spiked grappling arms on the ends of them drop down rapidly towards the fusion reactor. They soon slam down onto the ground, one of them crushing a Zarbodonian APC and its occupants almost instantly.

Cyclonus doesn't spend much time on the hill. After receiving orders from Galvatron, he takes off and heads towards the reactor as giant grapnels descends from the sky. Ignoring the remaing alien forces the unicronian proceed to secure them to the reactor one by one. The aliens keeps firing at him but all their heavy weaponery as been disabled and the Autobots are busy fighting for their lifes.

A deep ripping sound as of extremely loud thunder rolls across the battlefield as a molten iron sliver crosses it at one fifth the speed of light, passes through the target and disappears into the sky on its way out into deep space. "Boom," whispers Boomslang.

F16 Falcon <Dreadwind> sighs to himself as he strikes his target, this can only make things a lot lot worse and this time his dark thoughts bear fruit as Jetfire blasts him the missile digging through his armour before finally exploding removing a chunk of his shielding, however he doesn't cry out in pain. "Really? Well i have travelled the universe and seen the dark hoplessness of existence, the terrible truth that no matter what we try or do everything falls into ruin, individuals, civilisations, planets, galaxies, everything dies a slow agonising death. You were just fortunate enough to carry a pain within you that existence enjoys, like me your pain will continue to grow beyond imagining." Pausing mid flight Dreadwind transforms and spins around to pointing his arms at Jetfire for an immediate retaliation, after all dog fights are such a waste of effort.

F-16 Falcon suddenly halts it's forwards momentum and pulls up as it bends in half. The body of the jet twists and unfolds to become legs, while arms extrude themselves from the fuselage sides.

Combat: Dreadwind strikes Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire> with his TDual Wrist Blasters (Laser) attack!

Red Spaceship <Redshift> banks sharply, doing the best he can to avoid Impactor coming crashing back at him. "will you get that bloody harpoon OUT already!" The spaceship snaps, control surfaces flailing wildly. In a desperate bid to dislodge Impactor, Redshift opens up his bomb bay, spewing high explosives all over the place, each bursting in a white-hot blast of oxidizing phosphorous. It dosn't seem Redshift is bothering to actually AIM, as the bombs just go all over the place.

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> strikes Patchwork with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack!

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

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> strikes Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet <Quickswitch> with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack!

Combat: That attack has temporarily affected Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet <Quickswitch>'s Accuracy. (Blinded)

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> misses Impactor with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack!

Screeeeeeeeeeeech-Plunk! The roof hits the ground, and the already-weakened walls crumble, making an easy target for the grappling hooks to bite into the supporting bedrock below. Fusillade 'yeeeks' and then flies clear of the tremendous, construction-grade cables as they snap and cinch tight. She smirks a bit as Redshift messily chaffs himself. "Tsk, tsk," she holds up a hand to stifle a laugh.

Americon is put out by a Zarbodonian National Guardsman who mistook him for an innocent bystander. Unfortunately, the Guardsman made the wrong choice in fire extinguishers. "AGGGH!" Americon screams. "Flame-retardant foam! Are you trying to kill me!?" He up, transforms into eagle mode, and zips away. "Psycho!"

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

This could very well be the shortest fight Raid's ever taken part in. Shots come from seemingly nowhere and slam into and /through/ his undercarriage, ripping armor to shreds and frying some vital systems. "AUGHH! Kkh'..." Boom indeed! It's a brutal hit, causing Raid to tilt and skid into the alien shrubbery. trailing energon in his path. <<Puh'... Patchwork...>>

Combat: F-15 Eagle <Air Raid> takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet <Quickswitch> chuckles as Patchwork gets to her feet and then yells, "GET DOWN!" As he blasts over her head, dangerously close to giving her a buzzcut to plant the 'plane' of his body to block the explosive force of Redshifts impressive explosive payload. The Bot manages to fire a few quick plasma bolts at the offending Decepticon before swooping back to pick up Patchwork and makes a direct beeline for the Decepticon Reactor Buildsite. "HOLD ON AIR RAID. KEEP THE SKIES CLEAR. I'M COMING HOME!"

Combat: Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet <Quickswitch> strikes Red Spaceship <Redshift> with its Warning Shot Up Your Nose attack! [Pulled -4]

White armor chunks away as the twin lasers hit Jetfire. The Super Veritech fighter turns hard right to get away from the blasts. This brings Jetfire around to where he can see the giant hooks dropping from the sky. The Air Guardian just can't win in any engagement, defend this while getting shot at...

Jetfire adjusts his particle beam system to start spraying the area with particle beams. Jetfire radios something as he begins a strafing run towards the cables coming down from the Decepticon warship. Then, particle beams just spray through the sky... lighting it up with energy. The sky seems to shine as if a huge thunderstorm was throwing lightning all around. Jetfire isn't going to let go of this powerplant without a fight.

Combat: Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire> takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

Impactor is led all through the air, this way and that like a puppet on a string. Then the phosphoric bombs start dropping. "Screw this!" the Wrecker leader yelps, frantically hitting the detach button. In what seems to be comedic happenstance, the button turns out to be jammed. With explosions all around him, Impactor glances towards the ground and back up at the craft. Reaching for his pistol, he attempts to sever the line again...only this time with a well aimed shot. Well, as best aimed as you can while being dragged through the sky. If he's lucky, he might even cause Reshift some discomfort while he's at it.

Combat: Impactor strikes Red Spaceship <Redshift> with his Well Placed Shot (Laser) attack!

<Decepticon> Galvatron says, "NO! You fools, Jetfire is severing the cables! KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM!"

"Owie...owowow!" Patchwork doesn't get a chance to reply to Quickswitch's offer before the bombs from the Decepticon explode around her, her hands lifting to her optics. "Raid? I...coming!" The medic stumbles vaguely towards the sound of Air Raid's voice, rubbing at her optics, only to be scooped up Quickswitch.

Combat: Patchwork takes extra time to steady herself. [Pass]

<Decepticon> Sex on Pipecleaner Legs! Fusillade says, "On it!"

Disaster strikes as Jetfire's spray of munititions severs multiple cables, and the taut lines snap and whip out into the air, threatening to lash the unwary! Lifting the reactor out will definitely be quite a bit harder with those cables gone!

Cyclonus grunts at Jetfire starts firing at the cables. "You're making a big mistake autobot!" The unicronian rises above the reactor and starts chasing Jetfire around. He quickly transforms to keep on with the air guardian and accelerates until he's just behind him. After a brief moment where he aims his weaponery, his lasers seem to explode as deadly energy beams fly towards Jetfire.

Combat: Cyclonus sets his defense level to Fearless.

Cyclonus leaps into the air and quickly transforms into a cybertronian starfighter.

Combat: Starfighter <Cyclonus> strikes Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire> with his Oxidizing Laser attack!

Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire>'s Agility. (Crippled)

Boomslang fades out of sight again, disappearing over the course of a couple seconds, extremities first so that his grinning chromium teeth are the last thing to vanish. He quickly packs up his rifle and displaces, climbing down from the bombed-out office building and slinking away across the battlefield. "Handsomely now, Boomslang," he says to himself, pausing behind a burning building to look out at the shifting shadows visible from inside his photon-warping gravity field. "Gotta catch that little doctor-girl and crack her open before she can undo all our hard work," he reminds himself, drawing a revolver and thumbing bullets the size of beer kegs into it as he stalks closer and closer to Patchwork, a murdering ghost approaching like an evil wind.

Combat: Boomslang activates his cloaking field and vanishes from sight!

As Air Raid goes down, that opportunistic streak of Fusillade's causes her to take a few steps toward the smoke trailing from the Aerialbot. However, the sudden confetti of laser shots from Jetfire threaten to ruin the plan, and Fusillade wasn't exactly looking foward to being cooped up on a ship with an Emperor who just had his pet project trashed. Time to see just what the Air Guardian's done in way of tinkering on himself. With a wickedly gleeful cackle, she spouts off a checkerboard tipped missile from her torso, the warhead spiraling right for Jetfire!

Combat: Fusillade sets her defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Fusillade strikes Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire> with her Medium Range Missiles attack!

Combat: Used up 1 Missiles. 0 remain.

Fusillade hops up and down. "Look what I can do! We TOTALLY need to catch up some time, Jetto!"

Somewhere, in an alternate universe, Redshift is so awesome that Quickswitch exploded into a million pieces. And everybody laughed. In this universe, however, all it did was slap a 'kick me' sign on Redshift's chassis. A last-minute plasma blast from Quickswitch takes a chunk out of one of Redshift's thrusters, and Impactor's shot frazzles his sensors. His transforms back into his robot mode, and returns fire at Impactor, with a volley of searing plasma blasts from his rifle.

The sleek red spacecraft transforms into the winged warrior Redshift.

Combat: Redshift sets his defense level to Protected.

Combat: Redshift strikes Impactor with his Incinerator Rifle attack! [Pulled -5]

Dreadwind manages to strike his foe once more and is disheartened further, nothing seems to be going right at all during this mission. Just why he allowed Hi-Test to talk him into coming along at Galvatron's behest is beyond him it would have been far better to just wait and let Galvatron come and finish him off. Jetfire then instead of trying to put him out of his misery then flis off trying to shoot somone else no doubt, apparently not even the Autobots care about what he is up to. Drifting slowly after the large Autobot, Dreadwind draws his rifles summoning enough energy to raise a single arm he fires, sending a mope along with it, "Why am i always ignored? Is the truth that terrifying? I am always alone, always..."

Combat: Dreadwind misses Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire> with his Thermal Melters attack! [Pulled -2]

You say, "SHUT UP I SAW HIM FIRST!"

<Decepticon> Galvatron says, "Hahaha, that's more like it! Look at him squirm!"

<Decepticon> Boomslang says, "Like a pithed frog, sir!"

Try as he might, Raid can't get airborn again, so he just sprawls there, sans landing gear and most of a wing.

Combat: F-15 Eagle <Air Raid> takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]

The good news is that Jetfire managed to destroy most of the cables. The bad news is the fact that the Decepticons took full advantage of the fact he was distracted and unloaded into him. Cyclonus's laser just smashed into Jetfire's body... causing heavy damage. Then, Jetfire's stalker takes her chance to give him her version of a kiss... blowing him wide open. Jetfire angles back towards a nearby cloud bank and opens up his scramjets as he reports something over his radio.

From his enemies perspective, he's bugging out... green fluid dripping out of him, energy crackling across his body... In short, Jetfire just got the **** kicked out of him.

Combat: Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire> begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Starfighter <Cyclonus>

Sub-Orbital Fighter Jet <Quickswitch> smiles as he approaches Air Raid, diving by low to let Patchwork drop off while keeping a watchful eye on the ever sneaky Boomslang. Quickswithc does aa quick barrel roll and sweeps over Air Raid one more time before transforming silently into a robotic puma which quickly disappears into whatever passes for piecesof interest and camouflage on the ground on this planet, and pads stealthily after Boomslang.

Quickswitch transforms, traditional chuck chuk chuk noise.

Combat: Assault Beast <Quickswitch> takes extra time to steady itself. [Pass]

Patchwork wouldn't be able to see Boomslang's approach anyways, given the fact that the medic can't see anything a the moment. Her hands lower from her optics for a moment before rubbing furiously at them once again. Deposited back to the ground, Patchwork manages to get close enough to spot Raid, and she beams a grin at him. "There you are! I'm here..it's okay!" she assures him, hands moving to fix what she can, quickly.

Combat: Patchwork quickly patches up some of F-15 Eagle <Air Raid>'s minor injuries.

The plasma blasts do nothing to impede nor cushion the Wrecker leader's fall, it just adds insult to injury as he impacts with the ground. Dust and smoke flows over the brim of the crater, a handless arm comes from the planet's new facelift. Finally managing to get to his feet, Impactor addresses his troops on the shortwave. <<You piles of scrapheap better get back on yer feet and back into this fight, or this planet is done for. I don't care if you gotta start using duct tape to seal those breaches!>>

Combat: Impactor sets his defense level to Protected.

Combat: Impactor inspires F-15 Eagle <Air Raid>, Patchwork, and Assault Beast <Quickswitch> with patriotic and majestic words!

"HEY! WAIT FOR ME GRIMLOCK!" And that would be the Dinocommander coming in via single-seat shuttlecraft...though he's already opened up the cockpit, giving himself some extra shoulder-room. Oh, and it lets him wave his gun around at the decepticons as Grimlock circles around the battle scene. "Me Grimlock gonna crush ALL you septi-cons!"

Boomslang glances around. Quickswitch is coming pretty close. But then, he's pretty close to his target, too... and SHE's right on top of Air Raid. He sees an opportunity and takes it, taking cover in a relatively-intact parking structure and deploying a small laser from his wrist. He aims this laser at Patchwork, a flickering red dot appearing on her as Boomslang puts in a call to Fusillade. <<Grey Lady, you read me? I got a target painted, if you can get beamriders inbound fast it'll be a jackpot.

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

The starfighter unfold into the robot form of Cyclonus.

Cyclonus chases Jetfire for a moment but doesn't waste anymore energon firing at that unworthy opponent. Instead, the Decepticon second in command transforms back into his robot mode and heads back towards the reactor. The air guardian may have severed some of the cables but that won't prevent Cyclonus from repairing them. That's what he does, one by one but it's a slow work. While working he radios Fusillade, "Make sure none of them come close to the reactor again. I want this operation completed as soon as possible."

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

Dreadwind misses Jetfire even if the other Decepticons don't but then they do put too much effort into their jobs, after all it's not as if this venture is going to have any long term benefits in the slightest at best it may give the Decepticons an energy boost. Dreadwind just hangs there in the air as his target leaves not only him but also the battlefield, "I told you there is nowhere you can run to that suffering will not find you..."

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

Combat: Dreadwind uses up a charge on his Black Hole Special booster pack!

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey come back here!!!!" Fusillade squawks at Jetfire, pouting upward at the contrail of his departure. Well, some other time! She plants hands on her hips, watching the cables struggle to support the weight of the reactor as it begins to swing free of the ground, its pendulous bulk creaking and raining boulders and soil. Shaking herself awake out of staring at the raining debris by the radios by Boomslang and Cyclonus, she perks up. That's more like it! She jumps to the air, and with a scream of engines throttling to full life, she transforms. Slicing through the air, she closes in on the teal Autobot medic's position. Let's see, let's see, something nasty. Oh who was she kidding, they all were! There's another giddy giggle from her as she prepares to unload, and when the terrain hugging flight path brings her over the location marked by Boomslang's telemetry, she lets fly with a cluster bomb unit. The thirteen foot long canister falls apart at its seams, cracking into six separate bomblets, the flight path of some retarded by little ballutes, causing the destruction to fan out wide, and painfully.

Fusillade leans forward, wingblades whipping out to their full span, even as her arms lock backward in place as the rear fuselage. Her torso folds out to the become the cockpit of a space capable B-1R Lancer, ready for flight!

Combat: Space-Going B-1R Lancer strikes F-15 Eagle <Air Raid> with her CBU-87 Combined Effects Unit Area attack!

Combat: Space-Going B-1R Lancer strikes Patchwork with her CBU-87 Combined Effects Unit Area attack!

Combat: Space-Going B-1R Lancer misses Assault Beast <Quickswitch> with her CBU-87 Combined

Combat: Used up 1 Bombs. 3 remain.

Robotic Bald Eagle <Americon> spends this round mostly helping hold up severed cable ends for Cyclonus. He spews some American-esque rambling which it might be best to tone out.

"I can confirm the hit, good pattern," Boomslang sends up to the bomber, switching off the laser and spinning the cylinder of his revolver with his thumb.

Redshift takes a brief moment to collect himself, as Impactor shouts out across the wartorn battlefield. Things are not going completly to plan, but they do seem to still be in the Decepticon's favour. Rising up over the battlefield, the (somewhat battered) space warrior Redshift whips out a huge Decepticon flag, throwing it down to the ground like a spear. "DECEPTICONS! Our goal is almost in our grasp! Autobots have fled, Autobots have fallen, and we are still STRONG! Reinforcements arrive, but they come too late! Victory will be ours!" Or Grimlock will kill us all.

Combat: Redshift inspires Boomslang with threatening and frightening words!

"Thanks sweetstuff," Raid murmurs, eventually transforming. Impactor's words do their job; Raid punches his palm and runs forward a bit, looking around. Boomslang was his target, but of course nowhere to be seen. << "I'm going for the reactor,>> he radios, making a mad dash towards Cyclonus. AND JUST AS EVERYTHING SEEMS BACK ON TRACK... Fusillade's bombs lay waste, flaying freshly patched armor. "CRAP!" Too enraged to spend time pouting, he lifts his rifle to try and get a bead on the Lancer through the smoke.

Air Raid folds and compacts, transforming into his robot mode.

Combat: Air Raid strikes Space-Going B-1R Lancer with his Torque Rifle attack!

Combat: You took 9 damage.

"Hnn. Me Grimlock no know what that thingie is, but me Grimlock say you no get it!" And with that said, Grimlock bails out of the shuttlecraft (he does hit the 'autopilot' button, however) and takes to the air under his own power! It's slow going, but it'll have to do. "Rargh! Autobots, follow me Grimlock! Shoot stuffs with guns!" He is a brilliant tactician, Grimlock is. This done, he pulls his sword out with a *schwing!*- and then attempts to start cutting through the cables holding up the fusion reactor! Oh no!

Single seat shuttle, HAH! Nothing beats having an alt mode that can be put into an overhead compartment. Following suite behind Grimlock, a small device falls from the shuttle and begins to transform into his robot mode. "Alright, Spectrum reporting for duty!" Without much more thought, the psp-bot doesn't waste time in doing what he was trained to. Quickly, the old mech runs over towards the Wrecker commander, as per radio messages. "Dont worry, Impactor, the cavalry is here." He looks towards Grimlock, "Or rather, we brought the army..." Quickly pulling out some tools, the bot begins to work on the damaged mech. However, he keeps his optics about him, so he doesn't get blindsided.

Combat: Spectrum sets his defense level to Protected.

Combat: Spectrum quickly patches up some of Impactor's minor injuries.

Assault Beast <Quickswitch> is too nimble, too catlike, too quick. He can't help Air Raid, but he does believe the best offense is a good defense. The puma stalks carefully until Fusillade's back is to him, then silently leaps into the air making a perfectly straight diagonal rising line to drop onto the back of the aircraft raking with all claws.

Combat: Assault Beast <Quickswitch> strikes Space-Going B-1R Lancer with its Mark of the Beast attack!

Combat: You took 6 damage.

<Decepticon> Galvatron says, "NO! Not Grimlock! Always Grimlock! I hate him so much!"

Patchwork pats Raid's shoulder as she finishes her work, getting to her feet and turning to look for the rest of the Autobots, and who else might need help. Not that she manages to actually get anywhere before the world explodes around her for a second time this fight. "Darn it, ow! Stop it! THat hurts!" she protests, twisting round and craning her neck to peer at the sky for a moment before she continues on for her next job...

Combat: Patchwork takes extra time to steady herself. [Pass]

<Decepticon> Boomslang says, "Uh, Commander, we might need you down here. I don't think we can handle Grimlock and Quickswitch."

Impactor just stares up at Redshift and his silly Decepticon decree, the flag adding nice pzazz to the words. Damn, I need an agent. With Spectrum at his side, the Wrecker leader sends in an intel request for all available Redshift files. He want's to send this one home in a body bag. <<Air Raid, what did I tell ya? Get yer aft back in the air, or ya gonna be wearing a Wrecker size twelve in yer exhaust!>>

Combat: Impactor analyzes Redshift for weaknesses.

Cyclonus grunts as the cables are once again the target of the autobots attack and this times by Grimlock himself but that the only sign of his displeasure. That's unfortunate because he won't be as easy to dispatch as Jetfire was. However, Cyclonus isn't afraid of the Dinobot commander, he just has a healthy respect for his capacities. "Hands off beast. You're interfering with lord Galvatron's plan for the last time!" The unicronian raises his left arm and fires a small popup laser cannon hidden within his forearm. While doing so he makes sure to move away from Grimlock to get enough room for his next move.

Combat: Cyclonus sets his defense level to Guarded.

<Decepticon> Galvatron says, "Gah, you people can't do anything without me!"

A soft clatter of shattered concrete is the only sign of Boomslang as he climbs out of his cover when Air Raid passes him on his way towards the area of the power generator. Boomslang levels his revolver at the back of Air Raid's head... then seems to have a change of heart. He holsters it in his hip and draws his knife instead, moving swiftly to catch up to Air Raid. His steps match Air Raid's own so that his footsteps cannot be heard as he closes in, reaching out from behind, the honed edge of the invisible blade ringing as he thumbs the monomolecular switchblade's ejection stud and reaches for Air Raid's head with one hand and his neck with the other...

Combat: Suddenly, Boomslang appears out of thin air!

Combat: Sneak Attack!!

Combat: Boomslang strikes Air Raid with his Silent Takedown (Kick) attack!

Combat: Air Raid falls to the ground, unconscious.

Boomslang lets the body down gently, almost affectionately, drawing his revolver as he crouches over Air Raid, glancing around warily.

A comet streaks out from the Absolution towards Grimlock. Is it a piece of debris knocked off by weapons fire from the planet? Wait... no... that's... GALVATRON!

"GRIIIIIMMMMMLOOOOOCCCCKKKKKK!" Galvatron screams, superheated air flowing over his body as he plummets towards the Dinobot, arms outstretched for his throat! "I'll kill you! Kill you kill you KILL YOU!"

Combat: Galvatron strikes Grimlock with his Bare Hands attack! [Pulled -5]

Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Grimlock's Agility. (Crippled)

At Galvatron's bellowing on the radio, Fusillade scrolls through her inventory. Thinks about what she can use to stop Grimlock. Regrettably, almost all of that would also stop the grappling hooks' connection with the reactor. Hrn. Might have to leave that one for a bit. Then there was the matter of Quickswitch playing Tazmanian Devil on her broad back, and the angrily awoken Air Raid taking pot shots at her. Decisions, decisions. Oh wait, there's a tan camo pattern all over the Aerialbot. Well, that was that. She wrenches hard and to the left, nearly slinging herself in a flat spin to dislodge the six-changer. She wind-up turns quickly, the world tipping upside down as she twists free, slinging tonnage around to open up her voluminous bomb bays' rotary launchers on the Autobot brick.

Combat: Space-Going B-1R Lancer misses Assault Beast <Quickswitch> with her Bombs attack!

Combat: Used up 1 Bombs. 2 remain.

Combat: Air Raid's attack continues to damage you.

Combat: You took 5 damage.

<Decepticon> Boomslang says, "Splash one Aerialbot."

From his place hanging above the battlefield Dreadwind sulks as always he is ignored even here admist the strife and conflict, it's almost as if death shields him from the sight of others allowing him to be hurt and maimed but never killed. Watching silent for now as other Decepticons are assaulted from multiple sides and still they pointlessly continue to fight, such a terrible waste.

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

Alas, Galvatron is a bit late to save several cables from being severed, many of which were just repaired. Nevertheless, the Absolution is slowly but surely pulling its prize up out of the ground.

<Decepticon> Russian wrecking machine Avalanche says, "Hmm, Lord Galvatron. Seems you want to take things into your own hands? Given how fast you left the ship?"

Redshift beams after planting his triumphant Decepticon flag on alien soil, but the moment doesnt' last. There are still autobots to FRY, after all! He hasn't forgotten about Impactor, and that hook-handed Wrecker deserves a few good knocks for wrecking his paint! Folding up into his spacecraft mode, he dives down on Impactor and some other guy who seems to be FIXing his hard-earned damage he inflicted upon Impactor. His belly opens up, spewing a cluster of bombs down on the pair, while also firing off a bunch towards that blasted Grimlock!

Redshift transforms into his sleek spacecraft mode and takes to the air.

Combat: Redshift sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> misses Galvatron with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack!

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> strikes Grimlock with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack!

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

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> strikes Spectrum with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack!

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

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> strikes Impactor with his Phosphorous Bombs Area attack!

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

<Decepticon> Galvatron says, "YESSSS!"

Air Raid is none the wiser as he's crept up on. Boomslang's switchblade cleaves clean through the weak armor on his neck, slicing vital lines with ease. Raid goes down without so much as a gasp, collapsing in a heap of gushing energon.

Grimlock quite suddenly becomes the biggest target on the battlefield! This is about usual. But before he can hack through any more cables, he finds himself blasted from two different directions- and then strangled fom yet another one! "Grrh! Me Grimlock interfere ALL THE TIME!" he says, and twists around- he grunts a bit, and simply deactivates his antigravs, falling towards the ground- then he shoves Galvatron out of the way, and transforms to his robot mode right before landing. *BOOM!* "Rargh!" and he stomps forward, jaws opening wide as he attempts to sink his teeth into Galvatron's frame, ripping and rending away!

Combat: Grimlock misses Galvatron with his Dino Crush attack! [Pulled -5]

And then there's something between her and Air Raid. "Hey...hey, put him down!" Patchwork instructs Boomslang's back as she tries her darnest to look ferocious...and really does a poor job of it. The teal femme digs her feet into the ground as she dashes forward, shoulder lowering as she attempts to get the Con away from her downed friend.

Combat: Patchwork strikes Boomslang with her Grab attack!

Spectrum tries to push Impactor out of the way, but it seems that Redshift is quite the accurate mech. The explosions just envelope his entire form, disappearing from sight. Yet Spectrum didnt reach his age, by rolling over so easily. The elder bot just rushes along the ground, but the damage seems to extend to his optics. "Bloody Glitch." He says to himself, making sure to pay more attention to that one from now on. Reaching behind his back, and pulls out a small cylinder. Pressing a switch on it, it extends into a full blow javelin. "Lets show 'em what we got, 'Bots!" He says, and tosses the weapon at the Decepticon.

Combat: Spectrum misses Red Spaceship <Redshift> with his throwing javelin toss. attack!

And there goes the repair work. A couple of explosions going all nilly-willy around the Wrecker leader, he freezes like a deer caught in headlights. No hit. Damn, that Redshift sure does suc... Suddenly, he's shoved from behind by Spectrum. #-1 FUNCTION (ANSI) EXPECTS 2 ARGUMENTS BUT GOT 1 Caught mid sentence once again, a phosphorous bomb detonated directly in front of the Wrecker, sending him backwards sprawling end over end. Finally touching down with the ground again, Impactor's face drags in the dirt for about ten feet before finally coming to a halt.

Straining to stand, Mr. Purple-pants despites all the odds and get's back up. He whirls around, trying to ascertain the Decepticon spaceship's location. The cannon positioned on his shoulder starts to charge, a light purplish aurora emitting from the tip of the weapon. It's so light, it could almost pass for pink. But that's rediculous, Wreckers do /not/ shoot pink lasers. "Eat slag!!" Whatever color the super heated plasma is, it discharges from the cannon and propels at Redshift.

Combat: Impactor strikes Red Spaceship <Redshift> with his Pink or Purple Cannon Blast! attack!

Assault Beast <Quickswitch> pads gently up to the cockpit of the flying Lancer. With nimble reflexive moments and gouging insertion of claws into the aircraft's frame, Quickswitch rides out the turbulence.Once he is over the canopy he begins to use a paw to smash into the cockpit and begin swatting at the control dials with a roughness far beyond the wear and tear of normal use. Trying to force Fusillade to land, well more like crash, really.

Combat: Assault Beast <Quickswitch> strikes Space-Going B-1R Lancer with its Haywire Piloting (Punch) attack!

Combat: You took 3 damage.

Galvatron is flung off of Grimlock, but easily lowers himself to the ground on a plume of exhaust from the rockets in his boots. As soon as he lands, though, Grimlock's maw descends upon him! "No, you will not seize me so easily, you mindless brute!" Galvatron sneers, and manages to grab Grimlock's lower and upper jaw. "And I will not be gnawed on by you!!!" Violently, he tries to force the upper and lower jaw apart!

Meanwhile, the fusion reactor is slowly but surely being lifted up into the air, albeit it is leaning heavily to one side thanks to the absence of several cables, courtesy of the Autobots. The massive structure wobbles precariously in the air.

Space-Going B-1R Lancer wobbles mightily as Quickswitch jams his paw into the crew latrine.

Boomslang rises to his full height and looks as if he's about to disappear into the shadows again when he's suddenly grabbed by Patchwork, preventing him from phasing out effectively! He spins around, guarding with his left arm. "And here I was, going to leave you alive," sneers Boomslang's harsh metallic voice, levelling his 40mm HVAP revolver at the brave doctor and firing low, from under his guarding arm.

Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Guarded.

Combat: Boomslang strikes Patchwork with his Gut Shot attack!

Combat: Galvatron strikes Robot T-Rex! <Grimlock> with his Bare Hands attack! [Pulled -2]

Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Robot T-Rex! <Grimlock>'s Agility. (Crippled)

As Galvatron seems to fall from the sky to engage Grimlock, Cyclonus refrains from interfering in this fight since that could be unhealthy for him. Instead, he goes back to repairing the cables. Not a pleasing task since it makes him feel like a Constructicon but it needs to be done so here he is making knots like a good little scout.

The javelin cuts through the air, but too slow to hit the ever-agile Redshift. Impactor's bright purple laser, however, hits it's mark, piercing through Redshift's battered armor. Sparks crawl across his hull, and flashing warning lights go off in his unoccupied cockpit. His flight wobbles, and the ship begins making an uncontrolled descent, coming crashing down towards Impactor, trailing flames.

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> strikes Impactor with his Full Speed Ahead attack!

Dreadwind could leap to the rescue of one of the other Decepticons but it's not aa if he will receive any thanks for doing so or recognition for his good deed so why bother? Instead he heads to the steadily rising reactor and does what comes naturally to him, he takes a defensive posture between those still fighting and the nearest lifting cables.

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

With the regrettable reputation as the world's first self-jamming bomber, Fusillade's munition goes wide. And just as surely as she had thought she had shaken him loose, the beast is back upon her. A spray of gold-tinted glass glitters as it falls to the ground from Quickswitch's strike, and with an enraged yowl, the aircraft practically disappears as Fusillade transforms of her much smaller form, and she twists around, fixing the six-changer with vengeful saffron optics. Holding up a palm, there's a zing in the air as she charges up her magnetic coil systems, and punches a gout of plasma at the Wrecker at close range.

The sleek bomber rears up, wings collapsing onto hips even as the rear fuselage splits to form arms. The horizontal stabilizer slides up, the forward fuselage folds up accordian style, and Fusillade hops up on thrustered feet.

Combat: Fusillade sets her defense level to Aggressive.

Combat: Fusillade misses Assault Beast <Quickswitch> with her Plasma Caster attack!

Combat: Used up 1 Plasma Shells. 6 remain.

Combat: Air Raid's attack continues to damage you.

Combat: You took 3 damage.

Spectrum continues to stride about the battlefield, offering more support than fighting. His optics shift and watch, as Dreadwind begins to guard the actual cables. Though it is the sound of Grimlock and Galvatron that garners his attention. "Grimlock, hit him with everything you got!" He calls out, and kneels down onto the ground. Quickly raising his arms up, he aims his wrists towards the Decepticon warlord. "Hopefully he wont be doing too much!" He says, before firing weighted chains at the Decepticon leader. Should he ensnare the monsterous mech, energy will then course through the chains and incapacitate him.

Combat: Spectrum sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Spectrum strikes Galvatron with his Electron Chains attack!

Combat: Galvatron has been temporarily incapacitated.

"Hk!" Such is the ineloquent (even for Grimlock) noise the dinosaur makes as Galvatron dislodges his jaw! Thankfully, the mighty maw is still in place...even if his lower jaw wobbles about a little big. "Hhrnn Hrrnrghn ghr!" Grimlock says, staggering backward- he clasps his claws to his head...and with a pained grunt, he PUSHES...forcing his head back together with a sickening *CRUNCH!* "Better." he growls, and glances around...and he looks behind him! Oh yeah, other Autobots. "Me Grimlock crush you...later!" he snarls at Galvatron- and then he does a very, very unwise thing- he turns his tail on the Decepticon commander! Of course, Grimlock happens to be swinging his tail right at Galvatron's head, so that might help. Whether or not Grimlock connects, the dinosaur storms onwards- first, attempting to tread upon the crashed Redshift- but his real target appears to be Boomslang! "GET OUT OF ME WAY TECH GURL!" he says- and then quite neatly attempts to bite something important off of the sneaky seeker!

Combat: Grimlock sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Robot T-Rex! <Grimlock> strikes Boomslang with his Dino Rampage Area attack!

Combat: Robot T-Rex! <Grimlock> strikes Galvatron with his Dino Rampage Area attack!

Combat: Robot T-Rex! <Grimlock> strikes Red Spaceship <Redshift> with his Dino Rampage Area attack!

Impactor grins as the cannon finds it's mark, but then that grin turns back into a scowl ... now the blasted ship is coming right for him! The Wrecker attempts to scamper out of the way, but Redshift manages to ram the back of his head right into the ground in front of him. The blow bounces his noggin off the ground, snapping back up in whiplash proportions. "GURAGH!" he let's out, leaning up and shooting some potshots at Blueshift's brother.

Combat: Impactor sets his defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Impactor strikes Red Spaceship <Redshift> with his Tis a Flesh Wound! (Laser) attack!

The shot to the gut really shouldn't surprise Patchwork, but it does. There's that moment where her entire body seems to freeze, optics widening and mouth hanging open before she grimaces and steps back unsteadily. "Just...go way, you...big...meanie!" she grunts as she moves to get herself between the downed AIr Raid and Boomslang, pulling out her pistol to send one of her oh so impressive shorts towards him. "Go away...!"

Combat: Patchwork strikes Boomslang with her Pistol attack!

Assault Beast <Quickswitch> snarls, and grunts, like an animal, not bothering with any snappy fight dialogue. With two paws reaching through cracked glass, the puma is able to get a firm enough grip to avoid being shaken loose, and thus keep itself out of range of any ranged attacks.

There is a frightened yowl of surprise from the assault beast as Fusillade tries another trick and the beasts back legs lose their grip, claws inside the cockpit tear deep into the control consoles, decorative or not. Quickswitch tries to find enough purchase to bring his back legs smashing heavily through the rest of the canopy at risk of being thrown free.

Combat: Assault Beast <Quickswitch> misses Fusillade with its Smash attack!

Cyclonus finally completes the repairs of the last cable...until an autobot goes for them again! Noticing Dreadwind, he hovers towards him, "Make sure none of them come within firing range unharmed." Then the decepticon warrior launches himself into the heart of the battle. Seeing that his protegee seems to be in trouble with the psycho sixchanger, Cyclonus decides to teaches Quickswitch a lesson. Reaching behind his back, he pulls his sword out of its slot and dives towards the autobot as his weapon describes an elegant arc towards his neck.

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Assault Beast <Quickswitch> with his Diamond-Boron Carbide Sword attack!

Boomslang blocks Grimlock's gnashing teeth with his left forearm, which means that he just loses the arm at the elbow instead of losing something more important like his head. "Well, that stinks," remarks Boomslang, now sitting down and wiggling the stump disappointedly. "I'm blowing this GOATEX. I'll see YOU later," Boomslang adds suggestively to Patchwork, holstering his revolver so tht he can give Grimlock an eloquent gesture with the first two fingers of his remaining hand before he kips up onto his feet. Sprinting back down the street, he blasts off, transforms at the top of his leap and rockets away at full afterburner with a heavy snap-boom of turbojet engines blaring to life.

With the usual ratcheting sound, Boomslang spins and flips and turns into a fighter jet.

Combat: Boomslang sets his defense level to Protected.

Combat: F/A-18 Super Hornet <Boomslang> begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Red Spaceship <Redshift> and Super Veritech Fighter <Jetfire>

F/A-18 Super Hornet <Boomslang>, climbing away, curves back just long enough for something to fall out of his fuselage and clatter to the ground between Grimlock and Patchwork. The little metal thing rolls around and fetches up against a rock. It's some kind of black cylinder with white writing on it, and a moment later bright orange smoke pours out of it, rising up to mark the spot.

<Decepticon> Boomslang says, "Fusillade, I have to bug out, I'm joker fuel, but I left you something. Orange smoke is the target."

<Decepticon> Boomslang says, "Sorry sirs. Grimlock did me dirty."

<Decepticon> Sex on Pipecleaner Legs! Fusillade says, "Awww."

<Decepticon> Sex on Pipecleaner Legs! Fusillade says, "Kay."

The prone from of Redshift's spacecraft mode struggles to rise from the ground, his nosecone smashed in from another impact with Impactor(which feels akin to smashing into a brick wall). His atempts to return to the air are thwarted as Grimlock *STEPS* on him, producing a sickening series of crunching noises and a muffled explosion as his primary powerplant ceases to exist on the material plane. What remains doesn't so much look like a spacecraft as it looks like a pile of refuse with a pair of silly-looking wings attached. Also, Impactor shoots him, and the LAST little blinking light in his cockpit that still blinks explodes into a teeny tiny mushroom cloud.

Combat: Redshift damages himself.

Combat: Red Spaceship <Redshift> falls to the ground, unconscious.

Galvatron is frozen in place by the charged chains, and then... THWAM! That tail hits Galvatron's head so hard that his targeting system is briefly scrambled, and a prong is snapped right off of his brow. The tyrant stumbles to his knee, but then rises up again, snarling, energy crackling around his head as he glares at the one who ensnared him. "You... DARE!?" he hisses at Spectrum.

Grabbing the chain, which is still energized, he yanks on it, trying to pull Spectrum into the air, then spins it around and around and around his head before finally releasing him to fly off into the sky! "Have a nice FALL, Autobot!" he screams.

Meanwhile, the fusion reactor is about half-way to the Absolution.

Dreadwind brightens up ever so slightly as someone finally notices that he is still around and in remarkably good condition considering the state he was in when he entered the battle, but then Dreadwind has never been one to worry overly about death in fact it would be something of a relief. "Yes Cyclonus i shall guard the cables so we can blow ourselves up with this reactor later. Well those of us that survive Grimlock's assault anyway, it won't be many."

Combat: Galvatron strikes Spectrum with his Epic Flail attack! [Pulled -1]

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

"GET YOUR PAWS OFF MY CHEST!!!!" Fusillade bellows out at Quickswitch, whose beast form is stuck in her cockpit like Brer Rabbit in the Tar Baby. She gets a little slice of heaven as Cyclonus's weapon whistles through the air, changing up the flow of combat. "Mm. I'll polish that ANYTIME!" she effuses irreverently, before pullijng The Lancer fish-tails on her flight path, before straightening out, and making a beeline to the nearest cluster of Autobots -- in this case the Dinobot that she was directed to by radio -- and that nice plume of orange smoke-- since he was no longer standing on top of the grappling hooks. The teal medic is an unfortunate casualty. Bombs away, rinse, repeat.

Fusillade leans forward, wingblades whipping out to their full span, even as her arms lock backward in place as the rear fuselage. Her torso folds out to the become the cockpit of a space capable B-1R Lancer, ready for flight!

Combat: Space-Going B-1R Lancer strikes Robot T-Rex! <Grimlock> with her Bombs Area attack!

Combat: Space-Going B-1R Lancer misses Patchwork with her Bombs Area attack!

Combat: Used up 1 Bombs. 1 remain.

Combat: Air Raid's attack finally wears off.

Impactor swivels his head, looking at Grimlock with 'virgin' optics. "Grim did it ... he turned the tide." The Wrecker leader picks himself up and starts running towards Patchwork. Just then a nasty explosion courtesy of Ms. Fusillade cuts him off, he avoids any damage by jumping to the side. Pulling a large shrapnel missile launcher out of subspace, the Wrecker leader hefts it up to his shoulder and aims at the Space-Going B-1R Lancer ... adjusting for wind and other technicalities of shooting at a moving target.

Combat: Impactor strikes Space-Going B-1R Lancer with his Shrapnel Missile attack!

Combat: You took 12 damage.

Combat: Impactor's attack has damaged your Accuracy!

"RArghargarhar om nom nom!" And so, Boomslang's arm dissapears down Grimlock's gullet- most of it, anyway, as gruesome little bits of wire and metal rain down from the corners of his mouth. He looks a bit smug with himself at that...well, that is, until Fusillade drops a bomb on him! *BOOM!* ANd when the smoke clears...Grimlock still stands! He's a bit battered, a bit singed- but still the mean murdersaurus everyone loves (or fears). "Hnn. YOU." he points at Patchwork. "Take HIM-" he points at Air Raid "N' run 'way!" Grimlock says- and then wheels back towards the fight proper. "You Impactor dead yet?" he asks without looking at the Wrecker. Grimlock glances up at the skies- and then finally looks over at Galvatron & Spectrum. "Hnn. Me no think him gonna last 'long 'gainst him Galvy-tron. Me Grimlock help!" and with that, Grimlock glares at Galvatron...glares with EYE LASERS.

Combat: Robot T-Rex! <Grimlock> misses Galvatron with his A LAZOR (Disruptor) attack!

Spectrum just sneers at the Decepticon leader, trying to actually hold his ground. "Hope you enjoyed the whuppin' Galvatron." He says, before being literally pulled off his feet. He just grimmaces at the sheer strength of Galvatron's. The internal motors just being wrenched beyond repair as he arcs in the air. He is then finally released from the grasp of the dictator and is sent flying. This Autobot though, can't fly, however, there is something he can do. Quickly reforming and changing, Spectrum transforms into his PSP mode taking away that huge amount of mass he has in robot mode.

Spectrum jumps into the air, only to shrink down into a tiny handheld system.

Combat: Spectrum sets his defense level to Protected.

Patchwork doesn't need to be told twice. She nods to Grimlock's orders, huffing quietly as she moves to collect Air Raid. Running away sounds good right about now!

Assault Beast <Quickswitch> chuckles, a deep throaty growling sound replaced by loud whirs and heavy clanking of metal as the puma is replaced with an enormous drill tank. "GOING DOWN" He chides amusedly as the drill replaces his paws and begins to dig a passage to china through the intermediary bits of decepticon.

Quickswitch transforms, traditional chuck chuk chuk noise.

Combat: Drill Tank <Quickswitch> strikes Space-Going B-1R Lancer with its Armor-Piercing Drill attack!

Combat: You took 9 damage.

Combat: Drill Tank <Quickswitch>'s attack has damaged your Velocity!

Galvatron, in another display of his incredible power and durability, deflects Grimlock's eyebeams by angling his forearm just right and letting the beams up into the air. "As much as I would sorely love to finish him off, I have more important things to do!" He abruptly rockets upwards, eventually slamming into the bottom of the fusion reactor. His rocket boots flare like twin suns as he tries to use himself to help push the fusion reactor up into the Absolution more quickly, and one could almost swear it's working. "Hrnnngh... hnnnnghhhh!" he grunts dramatically.

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

Dreadwind continues his duty, well he hovers there in the air between the evil Autobots and the defenceless cables that they were casually destroying earlier, whether or not he'll do anything should they attack is yet to be seen.

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

The F-18 produces that distinctive transformation sound as it flips around and pops out limbs to assume a humanoid shape.

Space-Going B-1R Lancer decides, in a fit of abject stone cold stupidity, to fly away from her savior with the six-changer still wedged in her cockpit like a delivery truck with a pigeon stuck in its grille. What exactly does this net her? A fair bit of pain on her part as Quickswitch begins to bore his way through her crawlspaces and some pretty important electronic multiplexers. The aircraft continues to endure tremendous amounts of damage, and when Impactor engages his weapons, it knocks a considerable chunk out of the bomber's mass as well. There's still plenty of curvy dark grey space tile to around, and so, carrying the drilling tank in a lurid, bizarre display of chutzpah, Fusillade proceeds to berate Impactor. " Did... did you just shoot me?!" While abjectly ignoring the Phantasm scene playing out in her airframe, "What ARE you anyway? What do you turn into?! A brick? QUICKSWITCH has a better robot mode than you do!! This THING that I am ALLOWING to drive inside me for some reason!!!! You're worse than THAT!!! Do you even HAVE an alt mode?!" After the insults are dispensed, it gets personal. A 2000-lb bomb is sent sailing to the same patch of ground that Impactor stands, possibly loosened by his teammate's drill-bit induced mastication of Fusillade's bomb racks and bomb bay doors.

Combat: Fusillade sets her defense level to Fearless.

Combat: Space-Going B-1R Lancer misses Impactor with her GBU-27 attack!

Combat: Used up 1 GBU-27s. 1 remain.

"Enough with this!" shouts the decepticon second in command. The Decepticons warrior are starting to fall one after the other, especially since Grimlock showed off. It's not that Cyclonus has any pity for them but they are here for a reason and it's unacceptable that this mission fail. He reaches into a subspace pocket and pulls out a small metal sphere. Any starwars fan would recognize it and run away screaming. Cyclonus pushes a red button on it and soars into the sky. Once he is high enough, he throws them among the Autobot with a swift movement of his arm. "He's got a thermal detonator!" squeals one of the wounded aliens, pointing.

Drill Tank <Quickswitch> continues chipping at Fusillade's cockpit with his drill, in a freak animation error, she remains mostly intact while Quickswitch drills straight through and lands heavily into the ground, digging 6 feet in before reversing and pulling out. The drill tank takes a wide defensive orbit around Patchwork and the fallen Air Raid slowly tightening it to draw nearer to them.

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Galvatron with Thermodetonator's Huge Explosion #7962 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Robot T-Rex! <Grimlock> with Thermodetonator's Huge Explosion #7962 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Patchwork with Thermodetonator's Huge Explosion #7962 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Dreadwind with Thermodetonator's Huge Explosion #7962 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Sony PSP <Spectrum> with Thermodetonator's Huge Explosion #7962 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Drill Tank <Quickswitch> with Thermodetonator's Huge Explosion #7962 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Impactor with Thermodetonator's Huge Explosion #7962 Area attack!

Combat: Cyclonus strikes Space-Going B-1R Lancer with Thermodetonator's Huge Explosion #7962 Area attack!

Combat: You took 23 damage.

Combat: You are very aware that your life is in danger!

Combat: Cyclonus's attack has damaged your Accuracy!

"Yeah Grimah, I'm still standing..." Impactor gruffs, obviously have seen better days than this. Finally making his way up to Patchwork, he takes a moment to catch his breath before addressing her. "Listen to Grimlock, get Air Raid outta here. I'll help him." Mr. Purple-pants gestures, pointing up at Grimlock.

As if by clockwork, the large bomb cashes to the earth right in front of them causing a minor tremor. After the dust clears, the 2000 lb bomb lays there ... in all it's dud non-destructive glory. Glancing back skyward, "Hey you burnt out toaster oven, guess what ... you suck!!" The Wrecker leader follows up his less than adequate insult with a few laser blasts from his pistol. Then Cyclonus drops the big boy. Impactor goes kablooey.

Combat: Impactor misses Space-Going B-1R Lancer with his PewPewPew (Laser) attack!

Combat: Quickswitch sets its defense level to Fearless.

Quickswitch transforms, traditional chuck chuk chuk noise.

The Drill Tankswitch is blasted right next to the autobots he's trying to defend by the sudden explosive forces which assail everyone on the battlefield. As he's flying through the air he transforms, easily landing in a crouching position, optics narrowed, photon blasters charging. He pumps his arms rapidly as if punching, sending out wave, after devestating wave of destruction at Cyclonus.

Combat: Quickswitch strikes Cyclonus with its Photon Blasters attack!

"Hey, whut am that-" KABLOOEY! "Ow." The explosion was enough to even knock the mighty Grimlock off of his feet! There's an aftershock as Grimlock hits the ground...but he soon growls, transforming up to his robot mode- a bit pained. "Hnnnn." he mutters, and glances up at the fusion reactor being stolen! Not much he can do about that, now. But what he CAN do is make Cyclonus' life quite unpleasant! And so, he pulls out his Galaxial Rocket Launcher, and lets fly with even MORE explosives! A bit more focused, at least.

There's a flurry of moving parts, and Grimlock changes to his robot mode!

Combat: Grimlock strikes Cyclonus with his Galaxial Rocket Launcher attack!

Combat: Quickswitch strikes Cyclonus with its Photon Blasters attack!

Fielding a little bit of damage from all Autobots cool enough to play, Fusillade can only gaze insensately at the swelling detonation from the cavity of her ruined cockpit. The bomber has just enough time to internalize a 'Huhn, he wasn't kidding' before being consumed. She doesn't even get a chance to lament the impotent munition at Impactor's feet before a whole engine falls out from her left nacelle, glare from the explosion visible through the brick-shaped gap in her hull. "Mmmmnnnyeah, okay that's enough," she gurgles before jalopey-wobbling on a shallow climb back toward the Absolution, disappointed at her inability to return Cyclonus's earlier favor in combat. Nevermind that it technically just got erased by that explosion.

Combat: Space-Going B-1R Lancer begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit.

Patchwork is sploded along with the rest of the group. The medic, and the Bot she's carrying away from the battle, go tumbling to the ground. She's slow to get up, jaw clenching stubbornly as she reaches for Air Raid's arm. She takes a moment to steady herself as she looks back to those who have managed to keep upright themselves. "L...let's -go-."

Combat: Patchwork begins retreating, leaving herself vulnerable to parting shots from Galvatron, Cyclonus, and Space-Going B-1R Lancer

Dreadwind watches as Cyclonus drops the explosive and a horribly depressing bright light emits forth followed by a huge concussive force that knocks him out of the air but thankfully onto the rapidly flying away power plant. Dreadwind stares into the sky from his position and just sighs, "I told them that we'd all be maimed, well those of us that survived this mission but they wouldn't listen, they never do." Dreadwind's chest smokes, all the plating having been completely torn away or disintegrated, if you look closely you can make out energon being pumped through his systems when it isn't bubbling out of damaged areas.

Cyclonus is knocked off the sky the Grimlock's rocket which also badly damage his chestplate. The unicronian falls towards the ground when he's also struck by Quickswitch's photon blaster which damage his shoulder join. A mere second before crashing into the ground. Cyclonus transforms into his starfighter mode and manages to avoid the crash. He goes straight for the sixchanger, leaving Grimlock to Galvatron and he fires his lasers as soon as he gets into range.

Cyclonus leaps into the air and quickly transforms into a cybertronian starfighter.

Combat: Starfighter <Cyclonus> strikes Quickswitch with his Oxidizing Laser attack! [Pulled -2]

Sony PSP <Spectrum> is still unlucky, even in his tiny alt-mode, a piece of high-speed shrapnel just flies right into him. He's armor in this mode is far less than that of his robot mode, and thus the damage is VERY high. "Aahhhh!" He roars out, as he falls. However, it seems that Patchwork was able to catch him in her hands.

Combat: Sony PSP <Spectrum> begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Galvatron, Grimlock, Starfighter <Cyclonus>, Patchwork, Dreadwind, Quickswitch, Impactor, and Space-Going B-1R Lancer

Patchwork is that good. Yup!

Galvatron is pushing the reactor up just fine when suddenly he is caught in the midst of a huge explosion! "NNRRRAAAAAAAGHHHHH! Cyclonus, are you trying to kill me!?" Galvatron screams, his armor blackened and steaming from the blast. His face twitches with rage. "I trusted you... but you tried to murder me in that explosion! No matter--I'll deal with you LATER!" Soon, he and the reactor are too high above the ground for the Decepticons to do much about it. After all, if they severed the cables pulling the reactor up at THIS height, the fusion reactor would drop down on the planet like a bomb, making the devastation of this battle seem mild by comparison.

Combat: Galvatron begins retreating, leaving himself vulnerable to parting shots from Starfighter <Cyclonus> and Space-Going B-1R Lancer

Grimlock grunts, his systems still reeling from the array of explosions he's been through. "Hnggh." he mutters, and shakes his head. The decepticons have gotten...whatever it is that thing is! Curses. Still, Grimlock got to wreck some stuff, and paste Cyclonus with a missile! That's something. Grimlock hnns, and tromps over to pick Air Raid up with one hand, still covering the Decepticons with the gun in his other. "Me Grimlock crush REST of you next time!" he challenges!

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