A PLAGUE OF INSECTICONS


Logged by: Soundwave



Tempest arrives from Access Corridor.
 
Soundwave is at his usual communications station, 
apparently intensively listening to something.

<Earth> Soundwave says, "Attention Decepticons 
- replaying intercepted transmission to Autobot base.  
Attempting to filter static: "... giant robotic 
insects attacking our fields ... need help ... 
Autobots please assist...""

CatsCradle arrives from Access Corridor.

Tempest slips in...tilts her head as she listens. 
"Giant insects? Heh...if they're calling the 
Autobots, those bugs aren't Autobots."

Soundwave continues to listen to a transmission, 
aware that the others are there, but not yet 
acknowledging them.
 
Striker arrives from Access Corridor.

Megatron's powerful silver frame fills the 
entranceway as he looks over the command center with 
an imperious sweep of his scarlet optics for a 
moment, then steps inside. "Giant robotic *insects*, 
Soundwave?" he asks, as though not quite believing 
it.

CatsCradle come in, staying to one side of the door 
and leaning back against a console. She snorts 
softly. "If they even know what they are. They may 
just be calling the Autobots out of a panic 
reaction."

Striker says, "That was an odd transmission, what's 
it mean Soundwave?"

Tempest glances at CatsCradle and Striker, saying 
somewhat wryly, "Help the newcomer...you don't know 
anything about giant bugs, do you?"
 
Soundwave glances up from his station, nodding to 
Megatron. "Affirmative, Commander. That was the 
content of the transmission, despite the radio 
interference. Communications equipment of origin is 
primitive even by this planet's standards. I have 
discerned the source."

Striker shrugs his shoulders, "Nope never heard of 
them."
 
Soundwave touches a control and brings up a map of 
Earth's eastern hemisphere. The image focuses down to 
a set of islands just north of Australia.

Tempest says, "Me neither, though there's a lot of 
odd transformations in the universe. Though granted, 
bugs is a new one to me."

CatsCradle says, "Insecticons? We had one on Straxus' 
team for a while. 

Chopshop." She laughs suddenly. "But with all the 
giant-monster-bug-type movies the humans love so 
much, I'll bet there's a huge amount of panic going 
on about now.""

Tempest blinks a little. "Insecticons? So these 
creatures might be one of us...ah...you guys?"

Megatron's optics flash a little brighter in 
interest. "Robotic insects, indeed," he muses, more 
to himself than to the others, regarding the screen. 
Then he turns to the others. "It's possible these are 
our missing warriors, lost in the crash of the Star 
Drive when we arrived. Their idento-computers could 
have adapted them to Earth forms. But ... why would 
they not contact us?"

CatsCradle shrugs. "I could be jumping to 
conclusions. I just happened to think of Chops."

Striker looks in Megatron's direction, "Damaged 
memory chips maybe?"
 
Tempest says softly, "Treachery..."

Megatron nods to Tempest in response to her question. 
"It sounds likely. And it's not a possibility we can 
afford to pass up. Yes, Striker, that too is a 
possibility, but I intend to find out."
 
<Earth> Megatron announces, "Decepticons, 
assemble in the command center at once! We have 
potential allies to investigate."

CatsCradle shifts a little nervously at the mention 
of damaged memories. "Perhaps they were inactive 
somehow. Not capable of communication. But if so, 
then what would have activated them?"
 
Ravage arrives from Access Corridor.
Ravage stalks into the area.
 
 Tempest snorts. "And perhaps they're having a lovely 
time being free of your control...."
 
Soundwave catches CatsCradle's question and says, "I 
will be interested to find out."
 
 Chasm has arrived.

Ravage sneaks into the command center grumpily having 
been woken from a very nice nap and dream...

Megatron counters, "Control? They'd be fools to go 
their own way on a hostile planet."

Soundwave adds, "Autobots have confirmed and are on 
their way. Suggest we find these 'Insecticons' first, 
Commander."

Ravage thinks, . o O 0 ( Oh yes... We haven’t one 
fool in our ranks... )

Tempest's optics spark a little but she says nothing, 
instead turning her attention to the arriving 
cassettes.

Chasm flaps in, looking exceptionally well polished 
and gleaming today.
 
Chasm sighs deeply, "That was a blissfully long soak 
and polish. I have to work hard to attain this level 
of shine."

Megatron nods to Soundwave, and looks over the 
assembled. "To the air, Decepticons!" He turns and 
strides out, headed for the tower.
 
Soundwave rises from his place and motions to Ravage 
and Chasm to accompany him as he moves to follow his 
commander.

Striker nods and begins heading towards the tower.

Ravage yawns and gets up heading along with 
Soundwave.

Chasm sighs, "This isn't work type stuff, is it?" He 
flaps along, gliding lazily over Soundwave's 
shoulder.
 
Soundwave replies to Chasm calmly, "Expect to 
encounter possible Autobot resistance. And, possible 
allies."

	[Travel Spam]
 

Bali

     A popular tourist destination, Bali has managed 
to retain much of its natural beauty despite its 
burgeoning human population. Stone temples guard 
rocky shorelines which harbor colorful sea kraits in 
caves eroded out by the wave action. Further inland, 
mangrove swamps compete with stretches of cropland 
for space.

Obvious exits:
 <E> East leads to Demon Swamp.
 <I> Island Chain leads to Indonesia.

Demon Swamp

     Mangrove trees rise on their stilt-like roots 
above the still black water, shading out the sky and 
giving this realm a shadowy and mysterious 
atmosphere. The tree branches are draped in hanging 
moss and vines, and from somewhere far away, the 
eerie cry of some swamp-dwelling creature echoes 
through the undergrowth. Local superstition holds 
that monsters have taken up residence here, and the 
human inhabitants of the island only cross this 
region in their boats when absolutely necessary. Of 
course, it's easy to imagine monsters living here, 
with the shadows playing tricks - or might there be 
some substance to the legend?

Ravage [Jaguar] 
Tempest [Robot] 
CatsCradle [Robot] 
Striker [Robot] 
Obvious exits:
 <E> East leads to Croplands.
 <W> West leads to Bali.
  
Striker comes alive at the words, 'Autobot 
Resistance,' "Yes, finally some action."

Tempest takes a look around the swamp and draws her 
swords, using the tips of the blades to cut vines and 
hanging moss out of her path.

CatsCradle looks around curiously. "Yes, this does 
look like something right out of the human's 'monster 
movies'."

Megatron comes to a landing at the head of the group, 
touching down on the spongy earth of the swamp, on 
one of the few relatively dry spots. As his optics 
adjust rapidly to the shadows, he commands, "Ravage, 
scout ahead. See if you can pick up any trace of 
these robotic insects."

Striker eyes a large alligator in the nearby water 
and blasts it with his Plasma Rifle.

Chasm flaps around and takes up a position on 
Soundwave's shoulder. "Try and stay out of the swamp 
- it might ruin my fresh application of lacquer. It's 
still a bit tacky at the moment."

Tempest growls at Striker, "Stop it! Want to warn 'em 
we're coming?"

The croc is too quick, fortunately, and splashes away 
noisily into the black water.

CatsCradle glares at Striker. "Oh, that was nice and 
quiet, wasn't it?"

Striker says, "Just had to make sure it still works."

Megatron shoots a warning glare at the others, but 
says nothing, more interested in the current mystery. 
Who *are* these Insecticons really?

You say, “Let us hope, Chasm, that the Autobots do 
not ruin your fresh lacquer."

CatsCradle grumbles softly, "Next time, check before 
you arrive at a mission site."

Tempest moves away from the group, her optics 
piercing into the shadows of the swamp, not seeming 
to mind the sludge rising up around her legs in the 
least.

Chasm snorts at CatsCradle - "One must always prepare 
for the unexpected by looking one's best..."
 
Soundwave watches Ravage, knowing that if anyone can 
pick up a scent in this mire, it's his oldest 
creation. However, as a backup, he decides, "Chasm, 
accompany Ravage and see if detect traces of anything 
unusual from the air."

CatsCradle shakes her head at Chasm in a mixture of 
amusement and disgust, but doesn't say anything to 
him.
 
With a look of distaste, Chasm alights from 
Soundwave's shoulder and glides carefully in the 
swamp, staying out of reach of the huge mangroves and 
vines crawling everywhere.
 
Megatron notes Chasm and Ravage heading off into the 
dimness, and follows, his steps sloshing through the 
black water, and expecting the others to follow.

Tempest skulks through the gloom...pausing to realize 
she can only vaguely see the other Cons' outlines and 
hear their voices behind her...realizing she mustn't 
get separated.

Chasm circles and then pauses delicately in the air, 
his fine-tuned sensors registering something. "Over 
here, Soundwave. It's some sort of strange metallurgy 
reading - it's got a high radiation count which is 
unusual for terrestrial metals."

CatsCradle follows the others, moving silently 
through the swamp.

Megatron increases his pace, as does Soundwave, and 
they come out into a clearing of higher ground where 
the trees part a little. A mound of what seems to be 
vegetation, with a rounded entrance, is nestled under 
one of the mangrove trees.
 
Striker slowly wanders off through the swamp.

Tempest unexpectedly appears with a lunge on one of 
the higher mangrove roots behind the mound, her 
yellow colouring brilliantly setting her off from the 
greens and blacks of the swamp.
 
Soundwave nods to Chasm in acknowledgement, taking 
out a scanner to take readings of his own. Megatron, 
however, is less cautious. He reaches out toward the 
mound of vegetation. "What would appear to be a home 
for giant insects-" he grasps a handful of the grassy 
covering and pulls it away to reveal metal underneath 
- "is in fact an escape pod from our vessel." He 
smiles, pleased to have been proven correct.

Pod:
This curved pod, made of burnished non-terrestrial 
metals, glints faintly in the light of the afternoon 
sun, tangled with the weeds and vines of this arid 
swampland.

Chasm gives Soundwave a /look/. "You packed insects? 
My, you thought of everything on your expedition, 
didn't you?"

Slipstream has arrived.
 
Tempest peers down into the pod from her perch on the 
root.
 
CatsCradle murmurs, "That explains where they came 
from. Now, why the long silence?" She just barely 
catches a laugh before it escapes at Chasm's comment 
about packing insects

Tempest tilts her head at Cats with a smirk. "Well, 
you already know my opinion."

Slipstream glides in for a landing, having just 
arrived back from Cybertron. Since Megatron isn't 
around to order him back to the Brig, he thought he'd 
come over and help with whatever is going on.

Slipstream says, "What's up?"

Megatron says, "No, Chasm. Not Insects, precisely. 
But if the intercepted transmissions are correct, 
they've adapted to this environment. Now to find out 
why they've made a home out here, rather than seeking 
us out." He scans the shadows of the swamp as though 
searching out the inhabitants of the pod, but of 
course there's no other trace of robotic life to be 
seen.

Chasm says tiredly, "Bug hunting. Of course I prefer 
doing this with code rather than in a swamp.."

Slipstream says, "Bug hunting?"
 
Soundwave nods to Slipstream. "We are in search of 
potential allies, Slipstream."

Slipstream says, "Would they be detectable via radar? 
I can transform and do an aerial sweep for 
Cybertronian metals."

Chasm steeples his claws together, "Some 
'Insecticons' apparently are roaming loose in 
territory near by..."

Tempest says softly, "Adapted..." And looks around 
into the gloom.
 
There is a distant sound of thunder overhead and a 
large vessel can be seen roaring off in the distance. 
Its large shape is familiar as the jet mode of the 
Autobot, Skyfire.

Tempest's head snaps upward. "Autobot!" she hisses.

You say, “I suspect, Slipstream, that your search 
will not be necessary. The Autobots may lead us right 
to what we seek."

The sound dies away in the distance.

Chasm says nervously, "I hope this doesn't mean 
combat..."

Megatron says, "After them! If they've detected the 
Insecticons, we can't let the Autobots reach them 
first." He rises upward through the dense canopy.

The head folds down, while the torso comes out to 
form the body of the spy plane, and the wings fold 
out, and his legs fold together to become the engine
Slipstream transforms, and then zooms after Skyfire, 
making sure to stay a distance away so that he can 
dodge if he is engaged.

Tempest transforms into her CF-18 Hornet Jet mode.

Slipstream opens fire on Skyfire, seeking to disable 
his engines.

Tempest pushes off the tree root and transforms in 
mid-leap, darting after Slipstream...
 
Soundwave too flies upward and gets clear of the 
trees. From there one can see the croplands off to 
the east, a golden stretch of ground.

Croplands

     A gentle field of waving corn fills this area. 
The golden heads are full and it will be ripe to 
harvest them soon. Irrigation lines cris-cross the 
fields, and harvesting equipment is stacked in sheds 
near the road that runs around the outside of the 
farmland.

Bombshell [Cyber-Weevil] 
Kickback [Robot] 
Shrapnel [Robot]
Obvious exits:
 <E> East leads to Village.
 <S> South leads to Oil Refinery.
 <W> West leads to Demon Swamp.

Chasm has arrived.

Slipstream has arrived.

CatsCradle has arrived.
 
Tempest has arrived.

Striker has arrived.

The corn fields are a scene of devastation. The 
golden grain has been stripped to the ground, and 
huge insecticon-mecha are crawling everywhere - there 
must be dozens off them - all ripping into the soil 
and ruining the landscape.

Kickback merrily munches corn....

As the Decepticons enter the croplands, it becomes 
apparent that Skyfire was actually /fleeing/ the 
area... and with the huge numbers of Insecticons 
crawling everywhere, the source of the Autobot's rout 
can be easily seen...

Slipstream says, "What in the name of Primus are 
those things?"
 
Shrapnel burrows up from the dirt, "Those Autobots 
fell so easily.../easily/..."

Kickback says, "I'm not complaining...now we can eat 
in peace..."
 
Megatron lets the air warriors give the flying 
Autobot additional incentive to leave the scene, and 
comes to a landing right amidst all these strange 
metallic insects. His manner and every movement 
radiates confidence as he searches for an individual 
who might be the leader of this group.

Bombshell says, "They may yet return to spoil our 
feast."

Shrapnel laughs, "Then we shall defeat them again, 
dear Bombshell.../Bombshell/..."

Slipstream says, "There are so many of them..."

Tempest says dryly, "HOW fast do these things 
reproduce again?"
 
Soundwave lingers in the air a moment, weighing the 
wisdom of landing in the middle of an unknown group 
of robots who seem to be mowing down the crops - but, 
he's not about to let Megatron land alone either. He 
drops downward and comes to a landing beside his 
leader.

Bombshell notices the new arrivals, and pauses, 
cautious. He transforms into robot mode and 
approaches warily.

Bombshell transforms into his Robot mode.

Chasm lands on Soundwave's should again, "Mmmm, I 
wonder if CodeWarrior 4.5 would have any effect?"
 
Parts shift, and the jets become the legs, while the 
arms pop out of the sides, and the cockpit folds down 
to become the torso, and Slipstream's head pops out

Shrapnel looks in the distance, "Hmmm - it seems that 
we have visitors.../visitors/..."

Slipstream nods to Ruse, and then circles the area, 
not wanting to land in a place where he is so 
obviously outnumbered...
 
Soundwave gives Chasm a look of incomprehension, but 
his only response is to open his tape compartment and 
eject yet another tape, this time Ruse. Perhaps these 
Insecticons will be impressed by a show of numbers on 
the Decepticons' part as well.
 
CatsCradle transforms into her Robot mode.

Shrapnel lazily flips up and transforms, 
"Insecticons.../Insecticons/... Assemble... something 
interesting has started to happen.../happen/..."

Kickback walks up beside Shrapnel, looking curiously 
at the newcomers. "More Autobots?"

CatsCradle circles once and transforms, coming down 
to land lightly. She stands slightly behind the 
others, remaining silent.

The clones of the Insecticons continue to crawl 
haphazardly everywhere...

Megatron addresses the nearby Insecticons. 
"Greetings, Insecticons. It seems you have 
successfully driven away the enemy Autobots. Who 
among you is your leader, to have planned such 
strategy?" His voice carries a faint undertone of 
irony, but there's also a watchful and curious light 
in his optics as he waits for any indicator of the 
identities of these beings.

Shrapnel laughs, "If it is Autobots then we shall 
simply defeat them again.../again/.."

Shrapnel steps forwards, "I am Shrapnel... the leader 
of the Hive.../Hive/..."

Shrapnel gestures, "And who are you to disturb our 
fine meal.../meal/?"

Megatron catches Kickback and Shrapnel's words, and 
frowns slightly. "Autobots? Surely you would not 
insult your *allies* in this manner - Shrapnel?" He 
indicates the purple Decepticon emblem on his chest. 
"Decepticon science generated us, as it has you."

Bombshell looks over the robots who have interrupted 
their meal, his eyes seeming to pause over the purple 
symbol that adorns each.

Ruse transforms as she’s ejected... or at least 
should. The tape first clatters to the ground then 
transforms. She quickly stands and stretches after, o 
O(This is what you get for recharging inside him. 
Even if it is comfy.) She tries to figure out just 
what’s going on a bit.. disoriented.

Shrapnel turns to Kickback, 
"Decepticons?.../Decepticons/?" he murmurs.

Tempest just watches the other non-transformed 
Insecticons, sensing something different about them, 
trying to figure out what they're capable of.

Kickback looks at the symbol on his chest, points to 
it, then points to Megatron, all the while looking 
questioningly at Shrapnel.

Bombshell puts a hand to his faceplate as his optics 
show some spark of recognition.
 
Soundwave watches the three transformed Insecticons 
with great interest, as though attempting to 
recognize them from somewhere.
 
Shrapnel twiggles his antennae at Megatron, "You are 
not of the Hive.... /of the Hive/... but you seem 
familiar.../familiar/."

Slipstream is very nervous. These guys could 
overwhelm them by sheer force of numbers, and they 
appear to have some kind of hive mind. If they can 
replicate, they could be a big problem...

Tempest murmurs to CatsCradle, "You may be 
right...bugs seem to have a few glitches."

Megatron says, "I am Megatron, leader of the 
Decepticons, and future ruler of Cybertron. Those 
robots you chased away are called Autobots, and 
believe me, they will disrupt your meal for all 
eternity if they have the chance."

Kickback looks appalled at the thought.

Slipstream wonders if these "Insecticons" would leave 
any of the planet left after their meals. You can't 
get energon from a dead planet.

Kickback says somewhat insistently, "We must feed.!"

CatsCradle sighs to Tempest. "Why is it that all the 
new ones are always glitching?"

Shrapnel laughs, "All we care for is 
sustenance.../sustenance/..."

Tempest grins back nastily. "Would you rather some 
treachery?"
 
Soundwave notes quietly to himself that the many 
feeding insects aren't transforming, just keep 
eating. Only those three are standing and talking. He 
nods to himself, as though having some internal 
hypothesis confirmed.

CatsCradle snorts. "The last one that glitched shot 
me anyway, remember? Treachery or not, the glitching 
can be just as bad."

Ruse looks around and quickly figures out she’s 
overslept AND just been thrust into a possibly 
dangerous situation. She sheepishly slinks back 
towards Tempest and Cats whispering, "This is what I 
get for recharging too long. What’s going on and 
what’s with the echobugs wearing our symbol?"

Slipstream is quite familiar with the glitching. 
There is the problem that this glitching could make 
them a threat, or at least more trouble than they're 
worth.

Tempest says, "Glitches mean kill..." she gestures 
towards those in bug modes. "Is it me, or do the 
masses seem not so bright?" and perhaps Soundwave can 
overhear her....

Megatron allows himself a smile. "Sustenance? Then 
why hide in the swamps when this whole planet could 
be yours for the taking?"

Tempest says to Ruse "Megatron thinks these bug-bots 
are old allies of his...Insecticons..."

Kickback tilts his head and says rather politely, 
"Interesting...I'm listening..."

Bombshell remains silent as the conversation 
continues, his thoughts kept to himself.

Shrapnel flicks his antennae around rapidly, "This 
entire world...transformed to food?.../food?/"

Slipstream radios to Soundwave/Sir, this doesn't seem 
like a good idea. They seem like they could be too 
troublesome to be a part of our forces. And their 
ability to replicate would make them a danger. You 
can't get energy from a dead world./
 
Soundwave turns slightly to regard Slipstream, and 
only shakes his head a little, as though to indicate 
he'll explain later.

Megatron replies, "So to speak." His optics flash a 
little brighter as he regards Shrapnel closely. "Do 
you remember nothing from before your crash?"

Bombshell glances at Slipstream, his head-mounted 
projector automatically tracking the robot. His 
expression gives away little, but he doesn't seem 
pleased at being talked about in such a way.

Slipstream nods to Soundwave. He has his reasons, but 
Slipstream still feels very nervous about this...

Shrapnel flicks his antennae around, "Crash? /Crash?/ 
We woke from the cocoon and then started to feed and 
multiply.../multiply/... That is our 
function.../function/..."
 
Soundwave on the other hand is entirely calm, or 
seems so - though it's quite true that this swarm of 
Insecticon clones could theoretically make short work 
of them all. He sympathizes with the younger 
warriors' concerns, but hopes they don't show their 
nervousness too obviously.

Tempest is also on edge, still clutching her swords 
albeit points down instead of the defensive blocking 
points-up maneuver. She watches the leaders talk, she 
doesn't really understand diplomacy...that was the 
function of another...and her optics sadden as she 
tries to keep her mind on the hordes of bug-bots 
around her.
 
Kickback rather shrugs, as if to say, "We're just 
doing our job" in response to Shrapnel's words.

Ruse looks back... and idly makers her way towards 
the three talking, stopping just short of leaving the 
group of Decepticons though. She tilts her head a 
bit, "So your -nothing- but drones that listen solely 
to function and instincts?"

Shrapnel regards Ruse without much concern, "We feed, 
grow and survive.../survive/... What more is there to 
existence.../existence/?

Megatron regards Shrapnel thoughtfully for a moment, 
then says, "Hmmm. I see. In that case, I can offer 
you unlimited supplies, but you must realize, the 
Autobots will stand in our way. We shall work 
together, Shrapnel."

Kickback gives Ruse an almost urbane smile and says, 
"Of course not...we're..." and then he pauses, as if 
he can't quite recall....

Megatron mutters, "And in time perhaps you will 
realize there is more to existence."

Soundwave's optics brighten slightly in the trace of 
a smile at Megatron's words.

Tempest overhears the offer and almost snorts a 
little, since that sounds very familiar to her...

Shrapnel laughs, "Why should we concern ourselves 
with an alliance.../alliance/? We can defeat our 
enemies ourselves..../ourselves/ and we can find our 
own sustenance... /sustenance/ in this area.... 
/area?/."

Kickback pokes Shrapnel and gestures to his 
Decepticon logo.
 
Bombshell speaks up at last and says, "How many of 
these Autobots are there?"

Megatron says, "Is that so? Then why, again, do you 
hide in the swamp when there is so much more you 
could have?" He looks around at his warriors and 
decides, "Tempest, Slipstream - fly reconnaissance 
and report on the nearest source of refined energy."

Slipstream directs a look at Bombshell of apology. He 
has had his problems with similar things, and he 
should be the last one to judge others like this.

Shrapnel shakes his head, as if his primal mercenary 
instincts were reawakening.. "We must negotiate a 
good offer... /offer/..."

Tempest nods and transforms...

Slipstream acknowledges the order, and then waits for 
Tempest to lead the way.

CatsCradle says softly, "And what happens when the 
sustenance in this area is gone? Eat the rest of this 
planet? And when it's depleted as well? Would it not 
be better to have allies?"

The head folds down, while the torso comes out to 
form the body of the spy plane, and the wings fold 
out, and his legs fold together to become the engine

Tempest has left.

Slipstream has left.

Ruse hms slightly. She falls silent but eyes 
Kickback, o O(It seems there may be hope to bring 
them around...) She looks to Bombshell, then 
Shrapnel... THEN to Chasm as she mutters, "That one 
sounds just like you."

Chasm looks down at Ruse haughtily, "Certainly not! 
My voice is much deeper and more enunciated than 
that. And at least I don't repeat myself, myself."

Megatron folds his arms across his chest and watches 
the flyers depart, then gives Shrapnel a look that 
seems to say, "Wait and see."

Soundwave says quietly, "You are most amusing, 
Chasm."

Shrapnel folds his arms, staring at Megatron smugly, 
awaiting to see what sort of 'offer' will be made to 
the Hive.

Kickback glances at Chasm and says with a disarming 
smile, "Why the hostility?"

Chasm flicks his tail back on forth, still perched 
Soundwave's shoulder. "You mean you lot have 
civilized instincts after all? How interesting..."

Soundwave opens his tape compartment and ejects 
another tape - Laserbeak, this time. Leave the 
Insecticons guessing just how many he has.

Laserbeak has arrived.

Ruse smirks, "He’s always like this, umm..." She 
looks back, "Just what are your names?"

You say, “Laserbeak, circle the area and observe from 
above. We do not want to be surprised by the 
Autobots. They seldom withdraw so quickly."

Laserbeak flies out of Soundwave and swirls above 
him. *Sqawk*

Kickback doesn't even scowl at Chasm, he just keeps 
smiling, completely unfazed. He turns to Ruse. 
"Kickback, gatherer of fuel."

Laserbeak gives a slight nod. *sqreek* 

Shrapnel waves an arm, "Shrapnel, leader of the 
Hive."

Bombshell crosses his arms and says simply 
"Bombshell."

Laserbeak flies up into the air as he circles high 
above the others.

Megatron listens to the introductions, but awaits the 
return of his air warriors, confident that they will 
have found *something* of interest.

Tempest has arrived.

Slipstream has arrived.

Tempest transforms into her Robot mode.

Parts shift, and the jets become the legs, while the 
arms pop out of the sides, and the cockpit folds down 
to become the torso, and Slipstream's head pops out

Tempest lands beside Soundwave.

Slipstream waits for Tempest to make the report.

Megatron looks expectantly to the two flyers as they 
return. "Well? What have you found?"

Laserbeak points his nose down as a camera comes from 
his head and seeming to be checking around from the 
air. *sqeewk* then dives up and down flying in bigger 
circles as he keeps his sensors open. *sqawk*
 
Ruse salutes Shrapnel showing some respect for their 
chain of command then addresses them with a smile, 
"Ruse..." She then watches as the flyers land.

Soundwave tilts his head sideways a little as though 
detecting something, then interrupts the report 
unceremoniously, "Detecting Autobot engine signatures 
approaching. Laserbeak, gain altitude and 
investigate."

Tempest says, "There's an oil refinery just a little 
south of here."

Slipstream gives a look of apology to Bombshell for 
his earlier comments. He should be the last person to 
judge based on problems.

Shrapnel flicks his antennae at Tempest, "Oil 
refinery.../refinery?/"

Laserbeak hears Soundwave speak and powers up his 
thrusters as he gains a higher altitude flying around 
seeking the energy emissions he's receiving. *sqawk* 
then makes a split S as he dives back then up again.

Bombshell withdraws his gun at the mention of 
Autobots and carefully looks at the skies above.

Tempest glances back at Shrapnel. "Yeah. Fuel. For 
those who don't feel the urge to hunt their food."

CatsCradle chuckles softly. "Or would prefer to eat 
it without spitting out spare parts."

Shrapnel leaps up in the air. 
"Sustenance.../sustenance?/ Come, lead us to this new 
source of fuel.../fuel/..."

Megatron takes in the double set of information and 
decides, "Let us leave the Autobots to these shredded 
fields, then. Shrapnel, assemble your troops. You are 
about to find out first-hand, what I mean."

Tempest scowls, "I don't take orders from you," at 
Shrapnel, and looks to Megatron.

Slipstream mutters to Tempest, "If they eat all of 
the fuel, how are we to get any energon?"

Tempest also glances coolly at Cats, as if trying to 
decide whether her comment was something worth 
reacting to, and finally decides to ignore it.

Shrapnel transforms into his Cyber-Stagbeetle mode.

Kickback transforms into his Cyber-Grasshopper mode.

Shrapnel calls out, "To me 
Insecticons!.../Insecticons!/"

The swarm of clones starts to shuffle into a cloud 
formation, filling the air with their buzzing hum.

Bombshell transforms into his Cyber-Weevil mode.

Megatron motions to Tempest and Slipstream to lead 
the way back, then says to Soundwave, "Keep your 
cassettes active in monitoring for Autobots. Slow 
them down enough for us to secure the refinery." He 
glances at the Insecticons. "Perhaps these troops 
will be useful for that purpose as well."

CatsCradle gazes at the swarm. "Where would we put 
them all?" she asks in a very soft murmur.

The head folds down, while the torso comes out to 
form the body of the spy plane, and the wings fold 
out, and his legs fold together to become the engine

Tempest transforms into her CF-18 Hornet Jet mode.

Slipstream jumps and takes to the air, circling and 
waiting for Tempest to take point while he flies 
wing.

Shrapnel starts to buzz off into the air behind 
Tempest.

Tempest snorts a little...seeming more annoyed at 
having to look like she's taking Shrapnel's order 
than in taking Megatron's...and leads the way.

Tempest has left.

Slipstream has left.

Oil Refinery

     This industrial complex contrasts sharply with 
the natural beauty of the rest of the island. Gray 
buildings, huge storage tanks, and pipelines divide 
the area into geometric segments. The sheltered 
harbor provides easy access for the oil tankers that 
come and go from here. Activity at this factory tends 
to run at a leisurely pace, and only one or two ships 
seem ever to be anchored at a time.

Slipstream [Spy Plane] 
Tempest [CF-18 Hornet Jet]
Obvious exits:
 <N> North leads to Croplands.
Chasm has arrived.
Bombshell has arrived.
Shrapnel has arrived.
Kickback has arrived.
CatsCradle has arrived.

Laserbeak has arrived.

Ruse has arrived.

Shrapnel starts to settle on an oil tanker. "Oooh, 
sustenance!.../sustenance/!"

Laserbeak flies in as he gains speed.

Tempest has point...reveling in the feeling of wind 
over her wings and a pack at her back...then returns 
to herself and gestures downward.

Slipstream looks to Soundwave for instructions. 
Should they let the Insecticons take all of the 
energy?

Tempest rocks her wings to indicate the main 
building. "That's it...the refinery. Those vats are 
filled with oil...food."

A dark wind begins to blow in from the sea, heralding 
the promise of a monsoon storm.

Soundwave doesn't seem concerned about how much the 
swarm of Insecticons will take. He flies alongside 
Megatron as they start their descent.

Bombshell circles above the refinery, taking in the 
odd sight of non-organic structures.

Ruse flies forward and asks Soundwave while watching 
the swarm, "How did there get to be so -many- of 
them?" She to flies down as they do...

Parts shift, and the jets become the legs, while the 
arms pop out of the sides, and the cockpit folds down 
to become the torso, and Slipstream's head pops out

Slipstream waits for instructions from Megatron.

You say, “Another theoretical concept brought to 
life, Ruse. I will have to study it further."

Shrapnel bites into a tanker... "Oooooh. Delectable 
sustenance.../sustenance.../ Much better than organic 
matter.../matter/..."

Slipstream says, "What are they, exactly sir?"

Bombshell flies in lower and almost experimentally 
fires a steel dart from his mouth into the large 
containers of oil. A hole is neatly punched in the 
side, and a stream of oil begins pouring out.

Kickback chows down! "These robots have good taste!"

Tempest transforms into her Robot mode.

Slipstream hovers in the air, not doing anything but 
watching the waste of energy.

CatsCradle transforms into her Robot mode.

Megatron comes to a landing and assesses the 
situation rapidly. What few guards and workers were 
here, have long since fled. "Soundwave, start 
generating energon cubes," he says. "The rest of you, 
fill them with oil. We have only a short time before 
the Autobots arrive, and I want to see that they get 
a warm welcome."

Shrapnel grunts, "Yes... I am thinking an alliance 
with their Hive might be 
profitable.../profitable/..."
 
Tempest listens to Soundwave with interest, and isn't 
above slicing the gas tank out of an abandoned truck, 
and having a little snack of her own...
 
Chasm sticks a paw up, "I'll keep watch, of 
course..."

Bombshell drinks in the flow of oil, but still keeps 
one optic on the situation around him.

You say, “They seem to be 'clones' in the common 
phrasing, Slipstream. A reconstruction of existing 
raw material, keeping their shape from an influx of 
energy by the controlling individual."

Ruse hmms and nods... before looking to Chasm, "Get 
down here fellow forklift. Laserbeak is on watch and 
you know it."

CatsCradle transforms and lands, glancing at the 
approaching storm. "The Autobots aren't the only 
things arriving soon."
 
Soundwave speculates on the nature of the Insecticon 
multitudes as he generates the glowing energy-fields 
of the energon cubes, one after the other.

Slipstream says, "Interesting. Do they use 
nanotechnology to create copies of themselves?"

Slipstream starts filling energon cubes from the oil.

Laserbeak keeps to the air and still swirls around.

Chasm retorts, "I can watch just as well as 
Laserbeak. Anyway, I had to do all that lugging 
during that awful 'bring Cybertron into Earth orbit' 
operation."

Tempest gulps down the rest of her snack and begins 
helping collect energon.
 
You say, “Unlikely. I suspect it is a process by 
which energy re-arranges matter. How much energy is 
required to maintain the form, though, I will be 
interested to discover."

Shrapnel laughs, "They are simply the 
Swarm.../swarm/.."

Slipstream says, "If we could find a way to do it 
with us, we could create an army capable of 
overwhelming the Autobots."
 
Soundwave says quietly and a little doubtfully to 
Slipstream, "Perhaps. But we have not seen how 
durable they are in battle yet."

CatsCradle grumbles to Chasm, "Try righting a 
underwater base someday. Gives you a whole different 
perspective towards toting energon cubes." She moves 
to help fill cubes.

Tempest mutters to Soundwave, with a sly grin, "What 
do you know...a practical purpose for Autobots."
 
Ruse takes a cube, and begins helping the others. She 
hms overhearing Soundwave, "So they are basically 
energy transformed into mass. Shrapnel what happens 
to the 'swarm' when its done feeding and gathering 
more energy?"

Laserbeak swirls down and heads straight for 
Soundwave making a loud shreek as to give an alarming 
sound
 
Chasm flexes a wing, "I suppose I could carry one or 
two now that my first coat of lacquer has dried..."

Megatron watches the activity with a sense of 
satisfaction, but he does notice who's working and 
who isn't. "Chasm," he says with a brighter flash of 
his optics, "make yourself useful."

CatsCradle grins at Tempest. "Oh, yes. Autobot test 
subjects..."

Slipstream fills energon cubes as quickly as 
possible.
 
Laserbeak passes Chasm by an inch as he lands on 
Soundwave. *sqawk*

Laserbeak pages: *Telp* Autobots coming
 
Kickback is merrily feasting away, stopping only long 
enough to wave to the Decepticons and say, "Thank you 
for the magnificent feast!" before returning to 
glutting himself...
 
Soundwave ceases generating the energon containment 
fields and picks up an empty set himself, as he 
announces, "Laserbeak reports Autobot arrival is 
imminent."

Bombshell glances over to where Laserbeak is raising 
a fuss, wondering if that's a normal noise for the 
winged Decepticon to be making.

Shrapnel crawls over the tankers, more clones 
crawling over the rig. An oil slick starts to spread 
over the ocean..."

CatsCradle watches the Insecticons devour at an 
amazing rate. "They keep eating at that speed, and 
they'll be too stuffed to move when the Autobots 
attack."

Chasm eeeks, "Autobots? Where?"

Megatron acknowledges Soundwave's report with a nod 
and then calls to the Insecticons, "Then it's time 
for your part of the bargain, Insecticons. Send your 
clones into battle!"

Slipstream says, "Well, they could then use the 
energy to create even more of themselves."

Laserbeak gives a look at his 'father' then looks at 
the direction of which he saw the Autobots coming 
from... *shreek*

Slipstream says, "And then they'd be hungry again, 
and want more energy to create clones. A never ending 
cycle..."

Soundwave fills energon cubes from the nearest broken 
fuel line, hoping to have enough to carry off with 
them after the inevitable skirmish.

CatsCradle murmurs again, "Where are we going to put 
them all?""

There is a distinct rumble in the distance... A 
convoy can be seen - Skyfire flying over Brawn, 
Windcharger, Bumblebee!

Kickback looks up from his feeding. "Autobots...those 
who interrupt us before!"

Shrapnel nods, "Send in the Swarm!.../Swarm!/"

Bombshell says, "They must be eliminated."

Tempest says dryly, "So do I get to slice and dice 
Autobots, or am I a cargo ship again?"

Ruse fills a few more cubes and begins to pile them 
up for transport. She shakes her head looking towards 
the convoy, "Calm down Chasm... they will be dealt 
with."

Slipstream says, "Sir, do you wish us to give the 
Insecticons air support, or continue to fill cubes?"

The huge cloud of Insecticons takes flight and starts 
to dive towards the Autobot convoy, blocking them off 
before they even get to the oil rig.

Megatron replies to Tempest, "Protect the energon, 
Tempest - but I want to see what these Insecticons 
are capable of. Let them lead the assault."

Flashes of laser fire can be seen in the distance. 
Although they outnumber the Autobots, the clones seem 
to take hits easily and fragment and shatter when 
they are shot. Only their sheer weight of numbers is 
forcing the Autobots back.

CatsCradle smirks. "The Autobots are about to find 
themselves distinctly outnumbered." She grins. "Let's 
hope the Insecticons can fight as well as they eat."

Megatron includes Slipstream in that order.

Tempest walks over to the cubes...but scoops up the 
almost-empty tank and satisfies herself with swilling 
the last few drops from the bottom.

Slipstream nods to Megatron, and moves to be in the 
middle of the incoming Autobots and the cubes.

Kickback himself stays relatively close to the rear, 
letting his clones do all the fighting and draw the 
fire.

Bombshell watches the clones engage the Autobots, but 
still readies his weapons in case more direct methods 
are needed.

CatsCradle takes a defensive position in front of the 
energon cubes, watching the battle. "So the clones 
are nowhere near as effective as the originals. But 
they expend as much energy, don't they?"

Tempest laughs. "There'll always be a use for cannon 
fodder..."
 
Soundwave keeps filling cubes, moving quickly and 
steadily.

From the road Prowl and Inferno come driving into the 
area as suddenly they start to shoot around while 
Laserbeak takes off from Soundwave and heads towards 
the two standing targets as he opens up his laserfire 
upon them while in the same time he gets shot at by 
them as Inferno suddenly opens up another attack 
hitting Laserbeak in his wing. While Laserbeak 
strives down to the ground he makes a loud *shreek*

Just as it looks like the Insecticon swarm is about 
to overpower the Autobots, Optimus Prime explodes 
onto the scene a shower of dust, Sparkplug half-
hanging out of his cab. Behind him are Autobot 
reinforcements. "It seems these Insecticons aren't 
playing fair," he drawls, transforming and snap-
firing with his laser rifle. "Time to even the odds."

Slipstream moves to keep filling the cubes, 
supporting his comrades.
 
CatsCradle laughs. "True, Tempest. Better them than 
me."
 
Tempest makes a toast-gesture with the fuel tank, 
laps out the very bottom, crushes it in her hands, 
and tosses it away. "You got it."

Ruse continues to fill a few more energon cubes 
before she finally stops and draws her rifle while 
resting the other hand on a small stack of cubes.

The Autobot convoy forces the Insecticon clones back, 
leaving the landscape filled with cracked metal 
bodyshells. Soon, they have cleared the distance and 
are closing in on the refinery.
 
Meanwhile, the weather continues to worsen and the 
monsoon storm starts to build up overhead.

CatsCradle frowns, torn between watching the battle 
and the approaching storm.

Soundwave's optic band flickers a little as he senses 
Laserbeak's damage through their telepathic link.

Laserbeak nudges his wing and tries to fly while he 
looks back towards Inferno his eyes lit up and a 
laserbeam comes out hitting Inferno in the back.

Tempest does not seem to mind the rising weather, 
drawing her blades and crouching ferally on the hulk 
of a vehicle near the stack of cubes.

Beachcomber stares in horror at the oilslick, "You 
Decepticons just have no respect for Mother Nature!"

Slipstream doesn't like the look of this. The 
Autobots are getting past the Insecticons, and the 
storm approaching makes things even worse...

Kickback snaps at Beachcomber, "We must feed, 
Autobot!"

Shrapnel stares delightedly up at the storm, 
"Bombshell... why don't we take advantage of the 
situation.../situation?/"

Ironhide flashes a glance at Prime, "What's he 
yabberin' about?"
 
Laserbeak hobbles over the ground as he tries to find 
Soundwave as he seems unable to fly.

Slipstream says, "Sir, permission to aid Laserbeak?"

Optimus Prime calls out, "Megatron! We've got you 
cornered! Surrender now and call off the 
Insecticons!"

Bombshell says, "An excellent suggestion Shrapnel."

CatsCradle chuckles softly. "Cornered? Oh, I think 
not."

Bombshell sends a small missile flying up into the 
clouds, where it detonates, seeming to do nothing out 
of the ordinary.

Megatron, who so far has made no move to join the 
battle, adjusts his cannon and follows Beachcomber's 
gaze toward the leaking tanker. He smiles, then 
directs the closest Decepticons, "Keep the Autobots 
busy. I'm going to make use of that tanker as a 
weapon that will send this whole refinery sky-high! 
Prepare to evacuate." He shoots a contemptuous look 
toward Prime, and instead raises his fusion cannon to 
send a low-level shot toward the leaking ship, 
intending to set it on fire.

Laserbeak looks around as he makes a loud shreek but 
it sounds a bit odd. *shraaeek*

Slipstream looks to Soundwave. Laserbeak is in 
trouble, but he doesn't want to abandon his orders.

Ruse rushes forward, "Slip just get the cubes 
ready.." She makes her way through the 
firefight/battle towards Laserbeak using his sounds 
to locate him, then tries to scoop him up!
 
Bombshell's innocuous rocket seems to have reacted 
with the monsoon storm on a deadly basis! Suddenly 
the weather explodes all over the area! Fierce winds 
wrack the oil refinery and the sea starts lash in 
tempestuous rage!

Tempest transforms into her CF-18 Hornet Jet mode.

Soundwave hurriedly stacks the last of his energon 
cubes, and zeroes in on the source of the pain-
signal. "I will see to Laserbeak, Slipstream."

Shrapnel transforms into his Robot mode.

Slipstream nods to Soundwave, and continues filling 
cubes. He really doesn't like this...

Tempest says, "Load the cubes!" as she pops her 
canopy.

CatsCradle transforms into her Jet mode.

Slipstream starts loading cubes into Tempest and 
CatsCradle.

Laserbeak gets a signal from his sensors as he senses 
Soundwave to be nearby and decides to transform as he 
starts to change into his cassette mode.
 
Soundwave arrives by Laserbeak just as Ruse does, and 
takes the opportunity to drop the fluttering bird 
into Ruse's arms. The implicit request is, "Look 
after him, stay out of the firing line."

Laserbeak transforms into his Red Cassette mode.

Shrapnel flaps up into the air, the storm clouds 
framed behind him for a second. And then, with his 
antennae outstretched, lightning, drawn from the 
swirling, overhead storm, seems to crackle down 
directly into him.

Optimus Prime calls out, "I don't know what they're 
doing, but I don't like it. Alright Megatron, you had 
your warning! Autobots! Move in!"

Kickback laughs mockingly at the Autobots!

The front Autobot ranks press in for a tight charge.

Tempest may be a jet, but those lasers still work. NO 
longer unarmed in her flight mode, she fires from 
where she is parked!

Shrapnel laughs and then wave after wave of 
electrical power rips into the Autobot front line. 
His staghorn beetle antennae seem to be conducting 
the very power of nature into a terrible offensive 
weapon!

Megatron just smirks to himself at Prime's warning, 
and dives into the water, following the trail of 
flame to the tanker. Taking hold of the side of the 
huge ship, he pushes it slowly into position to bring 
it toward shore.

Having done his part in calling the lightning, 
Bombshell is content to simply blast Autobots with 
his conventional weapons.

Ruse carries the cassette, and nods. She flies above 
the ground a bit back towards the cubes and takes off 
skyward, but keeps below the storm but out of firing 
range of the Autobots. She dodges laser fire along 
the way BUT she ends up taking a laser bolt in the 
leg anyway, "Slag it all, just one battle without a 
ding, why can't I have just one?!"

Slipstream loads cubes as fast as he can, hoping that 
they will get away with all of them.

The Autobots in the front lines yell, the electrical 
surge rooting them to the metal base of the refinery. 
They appear to be overcome by the cracking, sheer 
wall of power. "No!" Prowl gasps, "This can't be 
happening!"

Kickback transforms into his Robot mode.

Slipstream doesn't bother to look up at what's 
happening. He's too busy loading cubes.

Kickback begins shooting at any stray Autobots who 
get too far away from Shrapnel's wall of power.

Optimus Prime gasps, trying to grab his rifle. 
"Electrical...surge... can't... move..."

CatsCradle laughs to Tempest. "Glitching or not, I'm 
glad they're on our side."

Megatron for all his power is a good bit smaller than 
the leaking oil tanker, and it takes a while to push 
the behemoth around in the water. Flames lap at the 
side of the ship as more oil pours down its side.
 
Spike, watching the scene with horror from the rear, 
shakes his head, "Wait a minute! Electricity can be 
grounded by rubber! That's why you gotta wear rubber-
soled shoes when doing wiring work! Hey Prime - 
transform! You've got /rubber/ tires!"

Slipstream nods at this. He owes them an apology. He 
radios a quick message of apology to the Insecticons 
via radio, and keeps up his work.
 
With an effort, Prime slips into truck mode... and he 
finds that Shrapnel's electrical storm has no effect! 
"Autobots!" Prime orders in a confident voice. 
"Transform! They can't get us in vehicle mode!"

<O-Decepticon> Bombshell says, "Yep, good old 
Spike, chief Autobot strategist. :)"

<O-Decepticon> Slipstream says, "Well, since 
Prime wasn't obviously up to the job..."

<O-Decepticon> Soundwave says, "No kidding...."


By dint of sheer effort, the Autobots shift into the 
vehicle modes... "Hey, I can roll again!" says 
Sideswipe. "Yeah!!" he responds by letting off a 
volley of rockets at the Insecticons.

Kickback cries out, "Curses!" and starts shooting at 
the vehicle-Autobots.

Ruse hovers above the battle rubbing her leg a 
moment... blasted Autobot stray shot. She stops then 
asks Laserbeak in his cassette mode while idly 
watching the battle, "How badly are you damaged?"

Windcharger laughs, "It's a good thing I can use my 
magnetic field in vehicle mode!" he says.

Bumblebee yells, "Good idea, Spike!"

Spike rubs at his head, "Aw shucks, it was nothing!"

Bombshell dodges to the side as Sideswipe’s rockets 
come down near him.

Megatron meanwhile keeps inching that burning tanker 
toward the dock.
 
Slipstream is loading up the cubes as fast as he can, 
but he's lagging behind, since he's the only one 
doing so.
 
Optimus thunders forward, crashing into any 
Decepticon that gets in his way. 

Shrapnel's remaining clones are overpowered and 
crushed beneath Prime's dread onslaught!

Shrapnel, still conducting electricity, is unable to 
shut off the surge. The power flows through him 
towards the Autobots, but with their rubber 
insulation, the electrical storm has no effect on the 
Autobots.
 
Soundwave levels his weapon to fire on Prime as he 
thunders past, if he can get a good shot at him.

Shrapnel calls out, "Insecticons.../Insecticons/ stop 
their assault! .../assault!"

Bombshell fires a volley of laser blasts at the large 
red and grey truck currently making pieces of another 
set of clones. "Tin-plated Autobot fool. Nothing 
shall stop us!"

Kickback replies, "It's not working any more...." He 
does his best, but he's not built for heavy 
firepower--though he does manage to deliver a few 
good kicks to Bumblebee...

Prowl and Ironhide charge up on the refinery, their 
guns blazing away. "You ain't getting away with 
this," Ironhide calls out, a rocket launcher on his 
roof powering away.
 
Suddenly, Windcharger's magnetic field starts to push 
against the Insecticon forces! Like a solid wall of 
magnetic force, the Insecticons are caught up in 
magnetic flypaper...

Shrapnel groans, "Can't... move.../move/..."
 
Kickback says, "We're stuck!"

Windcharger yells, "Where do you want these bugs, 
Prime?"

“Anyone got any bugspray?” Spike quips.

Bombshell tries to lift his gun, and can't manage it. 
"Dispose of that Autobot!"

Megatron meanwhile almost has the ship in position, 
and radios a warning to his Decepticons.
 
Optimus Prime orders, "Toss them towards the 
Decepticons! We can't let Megatron get away with more 
of this planet's precious resources!"

Tempest snaps her canopy shut. "That's it, I'm 
loaded." She considers taking out Windcharger, only 
to reject the idea realizing she is so full she can 
hardly get airborne...

Windcharger laughs, "I get it. Two birds, sorry 
*bugs*, with one stone, eh?" He flashes his 
headlights and the magnetic 'net' of Insecticons 
comes flying towards the retreating Decepticon 
tanker!

<Earth> Megatron says, "Decepticons, prepare to 
withdraw! This factory is about to become a smelting 
pit for the Autobots. And - someone retrieve those 
Insecticons."

<Earth> Slipstream says, "I can manage that, 
sir."

Tempest struggles to get into the sky....with both 
burners on full power, she just barely clears the 
buildings....
 
Prime barrels forward, noting Megatron's tanker, and 
rams into it, sending it flying towards Megatron!

The head folds down, while the torso comes out to 
form the body of the spy plane, and the wings fold 
out, and his legs fold together to become the engine

Bombshell struggles in the magnetic grip, trying to 
find some way to fire at the Autobots.

CatsCradle has also considered shooting at 
Windcharger, but just as quickly decided that her 
orders to protect the energon come first, and 
attracting attention to herself by firing would not 
be a good idea. At Megatron's orders, she closes her 
canopy and takes to the sky, her engines straining 
under the extra weight

Slipstream transforms, and releases magnetic clamps, 
trying to counter Windcharger's field and pick up the 
Insecticons.

Shrapnel buzzes, "Curses.../curses/!"

Kickback kicks out with his powerful hind legs, but 
to no avail.

Megatron seems momentarily puzzled as to why the 
burning ship won't move the few remaining feet to 
crash into the dock, as it seems to have run into 
some resistance - and is being pushed backward toward 
him?!

Optimus Prime increases his power. His tires grip the 
ground! Exhaust powers out of his exhaust ports! With 
a sudden shift, he transforms back into robot mode 
and grips the tanker, using a colossal surge of 
strength to smash the tanker into his direst foe!
 
Rain lashes the scene from above... the storm appears 
to be raging out of control...
 
Soundwave assures himself the energon cubes are on 
their way to being transported, then shifts his 
attention to the Insecticons. If he can short-circuit 
that forcefield net and release them ... he aims his 
weapon and fires a sizzling bolt of plasma in an 
attempt to disrupt the energy flow.

Slipstream tries to latch on to the Insecticons with 
his magnetic clamps.

Megatron is pushed back by the momentum of the heavy 
ship. Full of holes from the Insecticon assault, it 
starts taking on water and rapidly sinking, the 
flames sizzling out.

Tempest is a yellow speck in the sky, wallowing in 
the air currents, both engines screaming. She's far 
too overloaded...

Slipstream's slight surge serves to shift 
Windcharger's electromagnetic net! The field 
flickers, for an instant, but that is ample time for 
the Insecticons to crawl of out its close confines!

Freeee.../freee/... hisses Shrapnel, but notes sadly 
that the powers of he and his brethren have been 
severely drained by the turning tide of battle.

Shrapnel hisses, "Insecticons... we must 
withdraw.../withdraw/!"

Bombshell finally gets free of the magnetic grip, and 
surges upward into the air at full speed. He snaps 
off a well-placed shot at Windcharger, determined not 
to get caught again.

Shrapnel lifts into the sky and starts to fly off 
into the distance, leaving a scene of terrible 
carnage in his wake...
 
Shrapnel has left.

Kickback follows Shrapnel...

Kickback transforms into his Cyber-Grasshopper mode.

Slipstream motions to the Insecticons to get onto his 
magnetic clamps so that he can take them away.

Kickback has left.

A radio transmission is received by Bombshell.

You intercept a message from Shrapnel: "Return to the 
cocoon!"

Bombshell sends several more warning shots down on 
the Bots below and follows his brethren.

Bombshell has left.
 
Optimus Prime calls out, "Autobots! Secure this area! 
There'll be no harvest for you today, Megatron!"
 
Ruse scowls, and shifts to holding the cassette with 
one hand, "Laserbeak... hold on." She mutters drawing 
her rifle, "Soundwave is going to kill me for this 
but - " She swoops down at Prime and like Laserbeak 
often does takes a shot at him with her rifle, firing 
a plasmabeam that will hopefully distract him! She 
then pulls back up after the strafing run...
 
Soundwave being at first gratified that Slipstream 
has managed to free the Insecticons, pauses in 
amazement as they flee the scene without a backward 
glance. Now this, he didn't expect.

Now that the Insecticons have left, Slipstream takes 
in his magnetic clamps.

Slipstream moves to strafe at the Autobots moving 
towards Ruse, trying to keep her covered.

Slipstream curses at the retreat of the Insecticons, 
but he needs to help his comrades escape.

Windcharger yells, "Back off Deceps! You've lost the 
day!"

Megatron's optics flash bright in fury as the ship 
sinks down into the murky waves. He also notices the 
Insecticons taking off, and he like Soundwave seems 
not quite to believe it. His expression of surprise 
shifts quickly into anger, though. The Autobots 
forgotten, he orders, "Decepticons - after the 
Insecticons! Run out on us in the middle of the 
battle, will they?"

Slipstream launches a strafing run at the Autobots to 
keep them under cover, then drops several flash 
grenades to cover the run at the Insecticons. What is 
Megatron doing now?
 
The Autobots appear to have gained control over the 
refinery area! Things are looking grim if the battle 
is to proceed here!

Spike laughs, "They went down like a load of bugs!"

Ratchet calls out, "I hate to 'bug' you, Prime, but 
you guys need repairs!"

The Autobots break out into spontaneous laughter.

Slipstream does a last strafing run at the Autos, and 
then continues to put himself in between his comrades 
and the nearest Autobots, offering himself as a more 
attractive target. He's playing decoy.

Tempest is so overburdened with cubes she can hardly 
fly straight.

Soundwave checks on everyone's location, and then 
takes to the sky to follow Megatron's directive.

Slipstream lets several Autobots take potshots at 
him, and does a series of loops and dodges, still 
staying close to draw their fire, but managing not to 
get hit.

CatsCradle radios to Tempest: "You going to make it 
back to base all right? We can stop along the way, 
load some of those into Slipstream."

Megatron growls. "The traitors! We befriended them 
and now they steal our power source!" Flies out of 
the water. "Decepticons, forget the Autobots!"

<Earth> Soundwave says, "Insecticons have most 
probably retreated to the escape pod that we 
discovered.  Suggest seeking them out there."

Megatron is obviously very angry. "Destroy the 
Insecticons!!"

Tempest transmits a message via radio.
A radio transmission is received by CatsCradle.
You intercept a message from Tempest: "Damn it I'm 
fine! *pause, mutter* Yeah, well, maybe Slips can do 
his share of the carrying later..."
 
[OOC] Soundwave doesn't think they actually made off 
with energon cubes in this RP, though it may have 
looked that way to Megs if he was kinda busy. :)
 
Ruse blinks as she starts after the Insecticons as 
ordered and falls into the Decepticon formation. She 
stays back some distance though and carefully holds 
Laserbeak's cassette form, not wanting to 
accidentally drop him. "Don't worry we will get you 
repaired soon... after this all calms down."

Spike quips, "Looks like the other Decepticons are 
'bugging' off at last!"

Only Bumblebee seems to find that one amusing. "Boy, 
this earth humour sure is something."

Slipstream is the last one to leave, drawing Autobot 
fire, and then he heads off after his last comrade is 
out of range.

Megatron has left.

Chasm flaps after Soundwave.
 
Demon Swamp

     Mangrove trees rise on their stilt-like roots 
above the still black water, shading out the sky and 
giving this realm a shadowy and mysterious 
atmosphere. The tree branches are draped in hanging 
moss and vines, and from somewhere far away, the 
eerie cry of some swamp-dwelling creature echoes 
through the undergrowth. Local superstition holds 
that monsters have taken up residence here, and the 
human inhabitants of the island only cross this 
region in their boats when absolutely necessary. Of 
course, it's easy to imagine monsters living here, 
with the shadows playing tricks - or might there be 
some substance to the legend?

CatsCradle [Jet] 
Megatron [Robot] 
Bombshell [Cyber-Weevil] 
Kickback [Cyber-Grasshopper] 
Shrapnel [Robot] 
Pod
Obvious exits:
 <E> East leads to Croplands.
 <W> West leads to Bali.

Chasm has arrived.

Ruse has arrived.

Laserbeak has arrived.

Slipstream has arrived.

Tempest has arrived.

Shrapnel crawls back over the cocoon, electricity 
crackling from his antennae. "So... the other Hive 
approaches... /approaches.../"
 
Soundwave lets Megatron draw ahead and hangs back a 
little to come alongside Ruse, checking to see that 
she still has Laserbeak.

Slipstream radios to SW a message while they fly 
after the Insecticons requesting permission to let 
fly an EMP grenade to prevent the Insecticons from 
making copies of themselves.
 
Megatron says, "There they are, get them!"

Chasm perches on Soundwave's shoulder, still 
clutching his one energon cube, "I'd better drink 
this before it gets damaged..."

Shrapnel flaps up, buzzing. "Sooo, the leader of the 
other Hive.../Hive/..."

Ruse does and nods to Soundwave noticing he’s looking 
towards Laserbeak. She asks, "Would you rather carry 
him inside where he would be safer?"

Soundwave opens his tape compartment in response, 
though he's now equally concerned about the potential 
total disintegration of the alliance.
 
Slipstream waits for permission to open fire.

Shrapnel reports, "Those enemies interfered without 
feeding... /feeding/..."

Megatron heads straight towards Shrapnel, flying, his 
optics burning in bright red. "The leader of /all/ 
Decepticons! Your leader who you have betrayed! And 
you will pay for this...."

Bombshell raises his gun in response, warily circling 
around to get better cover.

CatsCradle sends a radio message to both Tempest and 
Slipstream. "Tempest, why don't you land just away 
from where the chaos is about to break loose. 
Slipstream, we need to you take some of her cubes."

Kickback eyes Megatron coldly. "Betray? You were the 
ones who destroyed our Swarm...your gift of food was 
treachery!"

Ruse slips Laserbeak inside and then looks forward... 
as she grips the hilt of her rifle a bit tighter and 
readies to jump into battle once again.
 
Soundwave slips Laserbeak hurriedly inside his tape 
compartment and moves to join Megatron. Maybe 
something can be salvaged here.

Tempest lands, heavily...

Shrapnel flicks his antennae, "We never agreed to 
join Hives.../Hives..."
 
Slipstream waggles his wings at Cats message, and 
then flies down for a landing.
 
Tempest pops open her canopy. "Take some of these 
cubes, Slipstream, I'm so overloaded I can hardly 
fly."

Slipstream nods. They'll need someone to load him up, 
though as his canopy is rather small, he can only 
take a few cubes at most.

Tempest looks around for someone to help...she says, 
"Take a few, then I'll load you."
 
Slipstream nods, and then unloads cubes, flipping 
them up into the air, transforming partially so that 
his cockpit is out and open, catches the cubes 
carefully in it, and then transforms back to robot 
mode and continues the process.

Tempest grins. "Thanks Slipstream." She still feels 
overloaded and bulky, but now she's ready to go see 
what the others are up to...

Megatron's temper had taken over, he tries to ram 
Shrapnel and nail him to the ground. "We betrayed 
you??!"

Kickback gets ready to fight if he must. "You let the 
Autobots ruin our swarm...while your troops did 
Nothing!"
 
CatsCradle lands and watches over the growing 
argument. "Oh, dear..." she murmurs.
 
Shrapnel buzzes weakly, "Our swarm is destroyed. We 
retreated... /retreated/! Our swarm would live if you 
had not led us into that trap set by the enemy 
/enemy/!"

Megatron attacks Shrapnel with grasp, and strikes 
him!

Soundwave evaluates his commander's mood and 
suggests, "Perhaps they merely did not understand the 
protocols of battle. Or did not *recall* them." He 
hopes Megatron in his enraged state will still catch 
the inflection, the reminder that there's been some 
memory damage at work too. It's worth a try, at 
least.
 
Bombshell keeps one optic on Megatron and Shrapnel 
and another on the other Decepticons.

Shrapnel gets knocked down by Megatron's sharp 
striking! Buzzing, Shrapnel spits out some kind of 
projectile at Megatron.

Shrapnel attacks Megatron with blade, and strikes 
him!

Slipstream loads until his cockpit has a hard time 
closing.

Shrapnel buzzes, "We retreated to ensure the survival 
of the Hive.../Hive/..."

Kickback says, "We protected ourselves, is that so 
much to ask? When you were doing nothing to help us?"

Tempest nods, "That's good Slipstream, I can handle 
the rest."

CatsCradle says softly to Tempest, "We're going to 
have a really hard time fighting, as weighted down as 
we are..."

Shrapnel hisses, "Our priorities are sustenance and 
survival... /survival/."

Slipstream says, "Cats, if you have too many, I have 
a few clamps that I could release and take additional 
cubes."

Tempest grumbles an audible complaint from beneath 
the "hood" of her jet form. "Let Megatron have this 
battle...he can terminate three bugs easily..."

Megatron growls at his opponent, pinning him to the 
ground. "Your swarm was destroyed by our enemies, you 
fool! And your hive..." He point at the Decepticon 
symbol on Shrapnel’s chest. "Is the Decepticon 
society!"
 
Soundwave catches the soft words from CatsCradle and 
surreptitiously motions to the energon-carriers to 
stay back and out of the way of potential harm. He 
takes another step closer to Megatron and the 
Insecticons.

Kickback repeats slowly, "Decepticon...." He looks at 
Shrapnel. "I told you, our species!"

Shrapnel snarls, "We are of the same 
species.../species/... But you are of a different 
Hive.../Hive/... We are the Insecticon Hive and you 
are not Insecticons.../Insecticons/..."

CatsCradle sighs a little. "Slips, if you weigh 
yourself down, you'll have just as much trouble 
flying. Or fighting if need be. Keep the weight 
distributed between the three of us

Slipstream says, "I can handle it. I've had some 
additional repulsors installed recently."

Bombshell takes a step closer to Soundwave, his gun 
ready, but not taking hostile action as of yet. He 
lets Shrapnel do the talking while he prepares for 
the worst.

Tempest says quietly, "The bugs have a 
point...Survival..." She grumbles a little for being 
weighted down with cubes instead of hunting and 
fighting....when did she end up as part of a team?

Slipstream says, "Besides, I don't intend to do any 
fighting. Not when I'm carrying cubes. There wouldn't 
be anything left of me if I happened to get hit."
 
Soundwave notes in his calm harmonious voice, so at 
odds with the current tensions, "Would you have us 
leave you to the Autobots, then?" He glances at 
Bombshell, but he hasn't drawn a weapon, and his 
presence seems at once protective but also decidedly 
non-threatening.

Ruse hovers just a bit off the ground, as she watches 
a moment. She sighs then lands and waits to see if 
Megatron can control his anger. She holsters her 
gun... notably putting some faith in the other 
Insecticons not to shoot.

Shrapnel protests, "We survived before you 
came.../came/..."
 
CatsCradle catches Soundwave's motion with 
satisfaction. She had been wondering where the 
priorities should be: the energon or the impending 
fight. She keeps her engine at a soft idle, prepared 
to launch quickly if necessary, to get the energon 
safely back to base.
 
Slipstream waits for instructions. This is 
interesting. He's of mixed feelings about the 
Insecticons. On one hand, they did desert during 
battle, and they are very dangerous. But they only 
did so because they were in danger of being 
annihilated, and they were left without support. And 
he should be the last person to judge usefulness, as 
he's been given enough chances already.

Megatron gets up, pulling his opponent onto his feet. 
The Decepticon leader's optics still burn like 
furnaces. "You were part of my hive four million 
years ago and I am still your leader! I am the leader 
of all hives! And I will not allow any treason!" Oh 
yes, he's close to ripping the smaller mech into 
pieces, but still keeps himself under control 
somehow. At least, Shrapnel /IS/ a Decepticon.
 
Tempest flinches back even in jet mode at Megatron's 
fury...the twitching of the aircraft's metal skin is 
apparent. In a way she can sympathize with the 
Insecticons...to survive, to feed...that was enough 
for her, once. But now she finds herself inexorably 
part of the group and even more surprisingly, is not 
sorry to be on the inside instead of where the 
Insecticons are...

Shrapnel hisses, "Mmmmm... You say we are allies but 
you did not support us in battle... /in battle!/"

Soundwave says again calmly, "An alliance requires 
proof of good intentions from both sides. We provided 
you with fuel - and asked you to fight."

Shrapnel shivers his antennae, "Yes... such food we 
have not tasted before.../before/... "
 
Kickback licks his chops (or the cyber equivalent) in 
remembrance. "Yes, such food was excellent..."
 
Slipstream sighs. On one hand, they have a great 
potential. On the other, they did retreat, and could 
be very dangerous. What to decide? It's moments like 
this when he's glad that he isn't a leader.

Shrapnel flicks a gaze at Megatron with a rotating 
compound eye. "If we unify Hives there must be good 
intentions.../intentions/ ... You will give us 
sustenance... so that the swarm might grow once 
more.../more/... We will expand to ensure our 
survival... /survival/..."

Megatron bellows: "We did not support you?! We gave 
you high energy food! We fought against the incoming 
enemy! You did nothing to save your clones either! 
You just watched the Autobot built up his force field 
while we fought!

Shrapnel flicks his antennae... "There is no more 
swarm... The air is silent... We must swarm again. We 
need that high-quality sustenance to swarm even 
greater than we have before.../before/..." 

Kickback points out...somewhat timidly... "We are our 
own group...we have been since we awoke here...and we 
make our own choices...until such time as we join 
Hives."

Kickback adds hurriedly, "If another were our leader, 
we would listen..."
 
Shrapnel adds, "We would listen, but we Insecticons 
would still be our own Hive... always our own Hive... 
/Hive/..."

Soundwave's optic band darkens a little as he 
listens, but keeps his thoughts to himself.

Slipstream thinks that they are making sense.
 
Megatron lets Shrapnel go. He turns to go. "You can 
be glad to be a Decepticon, otherwise you would be 
already dead now." He walks away. "I'm wasting my 
energy here. Let them find out how far they'll make 
it alone against the Autobots." Disappointment speaks 
out of his words.

Bombshell likewise doesn't add any words to the mix, 
but his stance makes it fairly clear he supports 
Shrapnel in this.

Tempest is mostly silent, torn...but she has a bay 
full of energon to deliver back to the base, though 
she waits for the others to start engines before she 
does, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

Shrapnel gets up, "We will feed and expand... perhaps 
we will meet again... /again/... Hmahaha! The Hive 
shall grow... /grow/."

Soundwave gives the Insecticons a last searching 
appraisal, and then turns away as well, to follow 
Megatron.
 
CatsCradle murmurs, "Just as long as it grows aimed 
at the Autobots instead of us."
Shrapnel turns back to the cocoon, to see about the 
renewal and expansion of the Hive...

Kickback says, "Yes, we must seek out new sources of 
energy to feed the Hive," and follows Shrapnel.

Slipstream waits for instructions.

Ruse sighs slightly eyeing the Insecticons and says 
simply to Shrapnel after such words, "Your hive will 
die by Autobot hands." She turns and looks to 
Megatron awaiting the order to return to base.

[OOC] Shrapnel says, "Wait until they come back 
begging for our help... :)"
[OOC] Soundwave says, "Or vice-versa. ;)"
 
Bombshell isn't quite ready to just turn his back on 
the others, and retreats to the entrance, but 
watching from the shadow there.

Megatron laughs. "The hive will grow... what a fool." 
He says it to himself but all can hear it. No, Prime 
wouldn't let them the chance to survive for long. 
Their clones aren't real warriors, just... puppets, 
no real 'hive' at all - an illusion. "You will ask 
for our help very soon, Shrapnel. Maybe I will grant 
it to you... despite your treason today.
 
Megatron says, "Decepticons, back to base!"

Shrapnel laughs, "I rather suspect Megatron, that it 
will be you who comes to us... /to us/!"

Megatron has left.


END