The Big Picture



Warlord's Quarters

The massive stone walls and high ceiling of this windowless room make it seem appropriate only for someone of great size and power. There's an air of barbaric splendor to the surroundings, from the huge firepit along one wall that radiates light and heat, to the breathtaking mosaic of chipped glass that hangs on the opposite wall. The firelight plays across the picture, seeming to bring it to life - the multicolored shards combine to form a scene of battle and carnage in which an army of Decepticons rend their enemies to pieces. Surrounding this, on the other walls, heavy bladed weapons and spiked warclubs are hung on display. Beside the firepit is a large chair and a low table stacked with a few ancient text cartriges, and a recharge bed looms in the shadows further back in the room. Eventually the eye is drawn to a disembodied head, its ornate helmet marking it as a former territorial ruler, though the optics are now lightless and shattered, and a tangle of wires trails from the neck. A steel spike is driven through the forehead into the wall, pinning it above the firepit like a trophy of honor.
Obvious exits:
    Out leads to Entrance Hall.

Jhiaxus turns away from the firepit as he hears the door behind him open, knowing only one other individual has access to this room.

Rook:

Standing at 16 feet, this fellow gazes at you with calm scrutiny. His helmet sports a small cyclinder on each side, a lens seems to be imbedded in the front end of each. A small antennae projects from one of the cyclinders. The peak of the helmet sticks out over his face in such a way that they are in shadow. His optics are slanted slightly downward - giving him a tired look. His nose is sharp and long - complementing his jutting jaw. Silvery thing 'hair' flows from the back of his helmet and down to his shoulders. His shoulders are wide set and powerful looking. His chest is boxy as well as stocky with two sections inset and 'ribbed' looking. His waist is equally stock with a slight bulge in the middle in the back and front. His upper legs are short yet powerful as are his lower legs. His coloration is teal green (helmet/torso/hands/lower legs) and white (face/arms/upper legs/feet/imbedded chest section). There is a faded symbol on his right upper arm.A small antennae sticks out from on of the cyclinders. There is a faded symbol on the side of it.

Rook nods to his Commander. "You wanted to see me?"

Jhiaxus's optics seem to flicker very slightly as the firelight plays over his features. "I did indeed."

Jhiaxus says, "I want your assessment, Rook, of this ... Lord Shockwave, this individual whom Megatron has seen fit to place in charge. What do you make of him? What do you know of him?"

Rook takes a few moments to cogitate a reasonable answer.

Rook says, "What I know of him is based soley on the radios I've heard coming from him and going to him. Wish you my impression?"

Jhiaxus's expression does not change as his deep voice rumbles, "That is what I asked of you."

Rook says, "He seems highly intelligent. His voice inflections seem to indicate a mechanoid of little if no emotions. He seems to be rational and capable. Megatron chose wisely, in my assessment."

Jhiaxus nods again, his gaze focusing on some distant memory of his own. "I would expect no less of Megatron, to have chosen well. However, for my part, I would know - to what extent does Shockwave's dedication run, concerning the future of our kind? Does he have the necessary vision?"

Rook rubs his chin in thought.

Rook says, "I don't think I can make a fair assessment in those regards based soley on radio conversations."

Jhiaxus rumbles, "Yes. It is for precisely that reason that I'm eager to meet him, that I've offered him hospitality here." He pauses, gazing into the firelight for a moment, then turning his attention back to Rook. "There is something you should see."

Rook says, "And that is?"

Jhiaxus moves toward the door, expecting without looking back, that Rook will follow.

Rook steps closer, yet keeps a respectful distance.

You head out into the corridor toward the center of the fortress.

Entrance Hall

The massive gray stonework of the walls and the high arched ceiling make this room seem armored somehow, yet empty; a chilling cold creeps up out of the mountainside, into the stone floor, and into the joints of anyone who passes through. Numerous corridors are swallowed up by the shadows to the east and west, leading presumably to troop barracks or other necessary cubicles. Rows of motionless, highly-polished sentries stand guard to both sides of the two sealed doorways, one leading to the slave mines, the other to the ruler's throne room. In a tradition that dates back millennia, each guard carries a heavy, spiked warclub over one shoulder, never flinching, never budging under its weight. The only splash of color in the stark cold gray of this chamber is the obligatory Decepticon emblem, a purple banner that trails nearly from the ceiling to the floor along one wall, and is emblazoned with a silver Decepticon symbol.
Obvious exits:
    Corridor1 <c1> leads to Repair Bay.
    Corridor2 <c2> leads to Barracks.
    Corridor3 <c3> leads to Warlord's Quarters.
    SP leads to Stone Passage.
    North leads to Throne Room.
    Up leads to Defense Platform.

Rook steps in from the outside corridor.

Rook follows along.

Jhiaxus moves past the rows of sentries at a measured pace, heading toward the huge door of the throne room.

The heavy double doors swing outward with a slight groan, letting you pass into the throne room.

Throne Room

An ever-shifting pattern of deep shadow and red light makes the size of this room indeterminate. Illumination is provided by rows of flickering, smoking torches that line the outside walls. Below these stand more silent, polished sentries, heavily armed and motionless while the firelight plays over their armor. A great circular pit takes up much of the floorspace, its smooth walls ending far below in a bubbling pool of white-hot molten metal. Bits and pieces of robotic limbs and armor can still be seen floating in the mixture, which gives off enough heat to warm the entire room. Rising on a pillar of darkness above the smelting pit, a steep staircase leads up to a platform dominated by a massive throne. To each side is a smaller seat for a guest or advisor. A retractable walkway stretches across the smelting pit; those who would approach the ruler of Hellpit Territory, must cross above the scalding pit of death in order to stand in his presence.
Obvious exits:
    Out leads to Entrance Hall.

Rook enters the throne room, the heavy doors swinging shut afterwards with a slight groan.

Jhiaxus strides across the walkway over the smelting pit without so much as glancing down ... nothing to be seen there at the moment ... and heads toward the throne platform. Instead of climbing the stairs, however, he circles around to the back.

Hidden in the deepest shadows behind the throne platform, a barely detectable panel in the wall responds only to a series of mechanical activation codes.

Rook follows along.

Jhiaxus goes to the hidden panel and activates the code by pressing his fingers against the sides at a particular point, and the entrance becomes clear. He steps inside.

You step into the near-complete darkness of a narrow passage that slopes sharply downward, eventually forming itself into rough-hewn stairs beneath your feet. Just when the winding descent threatens to become endless, you detect a faint light up ahead.

Laboratory

Tables, lab benches, and shelves stand cluttered with outdated and archaic equipment, much of it covered in a thick layer of dust. Here and there a cleared spot on a lab bench boasts a set-up of bubbling flasks and coiled tubing, or obsolete electronic devices that buzz and spark intermittently to themselves. More shelves along the walls are crammed with ancient text cartridges, some of them neatly ordered in untouched rows, others in a jumble of disarray. The uneven stone walls indicate that this level is deep within the mountainside, making for a decidedly closed-in feeling - as though something from long ago is brooding in the corners and crevices of this room, and just needs to be uncovered.
Obvious exits:
    South leads to Storage Room.
    Up leads to Throne Room.

Rook steps carefully out of the open wall panel.

Rook adjusts to the darkness, wondering what his commander wants him to see.

Jhiaxus smiles slightly. "I know you've often wondered why I horde some of this clutter. That will become clear in time. This level, you're familiar with, though not all of it -- and that, by now, you should see."

Rook says, "Yes."

Jhiaxus moves between the narrowly-spaced lab tables, almost too big to get around them without knocking things down, but managing none the less. He goes to open the door to the storage room.

A heavy, locked, and bolted door blocks your path.

Jhiaxus unlocks the door.

The hinges creak and groan as the heavy door swings out, letting you pass.

Storage Room

In contrast to the chaotic disorder of the laboratory, this room is divided into precisely regimented storage space. Huge stacks of sheet metal, armor plate, thick cabling, crates of circuitry each neatly labeled, and other refined materials, are piled in orderly arrangements. Additionally there are racks of weapons ranging from old-style spiked battle clubs to components for perimeter-defense cannons. To the uninitiated it would look like simply the prudent storage of materials needed to keep a defended fortress operational; to those who look more closely, however, it becomes obvious that there's far more here than necessary.
Obvious exits:
    South leads to Vault.
    North leads to Laboratory.

Rook enters the storage room as the heavy door swings on creaking and groaning hinges.
Rook has arrived.

Jhiaxus turns and regards Rook carefully as he enters. "Here is a beginning. You will notice there is ... considerably more material here of late."

Rook looks about.

Rook says, "Yes, I do indeed see that."

Jhiaxus says, "Once again, there is a reason."

To the south, a dull-gray featureless surface of metal blocks your path, fixed into place by multiple sensors and locks that will respond only to those with the correct code.

Jhiaxus threads his way through the stacked materials to reach the next door, the encoded and locked door to the vault, which he opens with an internal electronic signal.

The metal panel retracts into the wall, letting you through.

Vault

This huge sensor-shielded and metal- lined chamber provides a startling sight: it's filled nearly ceiling-to-floor with identically-proportioned energon cubes. There is only a single narrow walkway between the stacks, which glow with a soft pink light as the potent energies within the cubes swirl gently. The warm glow and color make for a calming effect - very much at odds with the destructive potential contained here. How, during a planet-wide energy crisis, could such a concentration of fuel have been amassed without notice, and how many valiant Decepticon warriors went without life-giving fuel that was siphoned away to this stronghold? Despite the gentle light given off by the stacks of cubes, the air suddenly feels cold.
Obvious exits:
    North leads to Storage Room.

Rook enters the vault as the sliding entrance-panel locks itself back in place.
Rook has arrived.

Rook optics take on a slightly more widened expression.

Jhiaxus again regards Rook carefully for any sign of reaction, as this is a room he's never unlocked even in his subcommander's presence.

Rook shifts his gaze to his commander. "Quite amazing."

One corner of Jhiaxus' mouth turns up very sightly, though his optics never change expression. "It is ... a beginning."

Jhiaxus says, "Not nearly enough, but that perhaps is where Shockwave may come in. If he has the dedication necessary to see that we all survive."

Jhiaxus seems to be deliberately speaking in riddles, as though he's still not letting his guard down entirely.

Rook nods. "Yes. I see."

Jhiaxus narrows his optics. "Do you. Do you indeed."

Rook regards his commander calmly. "Of course I do. I think that he may indeed come in handy in that regard."

Jhiaxus hesitates a moment, as though weighing some internal options, dispelling some mistrust, reaching for some encouragement of his own devising. Finally he says, "It's time you learned the big picture, Rook. After all these years."

Jhiaxus turns away and heads back out of the vault.

The metal panel retracts into the wall, letting you through.

Storage Room

Rook enters from the vault as the sliding entrance-panel locks itself back in place.

Rook follows, wondering what sort of big picture he missed.

Jhiaxus checks the lock on the opening to the vault, more out of habit than any real mistrust in its security, then heads over to one of the weapons racks in the room.

Behind one of the weapons racks, another heavy trapdoor lies almost hidden, the dull color of its metal blending very nearly with the color of the stone floor.

Rook follows behind.

Jhiaxus reaches down to a spot almost indetectable to casual vision, and pulls up a heavy trapdoor.

Jhiaxus looks siginificantly at his subcommander, hesitating only one instant longer as he says, "Under here. The beginnings of the future."

Jhiaxus heads downward.

Rook lifts the heavy trapdoor with some difficulty and climbs down into the passage below.
Rook has left.

You lift the heavy trapdoor with some difficulty and descend into another stone passage. An intense cold radiates from the walls and the stone beneath your feet, as you descend ever deeper into the heart of the mountain.

Shipyard

Another patchwork of light and shadow, this uneven cavern hollowed out deep within the mountain, is nearly filled by a gargantuan starship. Dwarfed by the lethally elegant sweep of the wings and tail, scores of workers clamber over the hull and move in and out of multiple entrance ramps, bringing the ship bit by bit closer to completion. Massive cannons are in the process of being attached to the undersides, and a clean-lined Decepticon symbol of a slightly changed design already adorns the forward hull. The grim, polished sentries that patrol the outskirts of the cavern indicate that some of these workers are not here by choice.
Contents:
    Rook
    Jhiaxus' Starship
Obvious exits:
    East leads to Side Cavern.
    Up leads to Storage Room.

Rook studies the place, now careful about his expression.

Rook says, "Impressive."

Jhiaxus points to the still incomplete ship, the barest flicker of pride apparent in his optics. "There. That is our destiny."

Rook inclines his head. "And to where does destiny take us?"

Rook of course notes the symbol on the ship with keen observation.

Jhiaxus says, "To the stars, Rook. And away from this depleated world. There is nothing left here for us, nothing left for our kind. And yet ... and yet it comes to my attention that many of our number have an odd sentimentality about Cybertron, a curse that will prove their undoing if not dealt with."

Rook says, "I see your point."

Rook says, "And Shockwave is part of this destiny then?"

Jhiaxus notices Rook's interest and smiles slightly. "A slightly re-fashioned symbol, yes. To indicate a new empire, to leave behind the dead past." He pauses thoughtfully at the question. "It is that which I mean to find out. If he can be part of it."

Rook turns toward his commander. "Would you want me to get some opinions on him from is warriors then to ascertin his feasibility in that destiny?"

Jhiaxus replies to Rook's question, "I want you to investigate. To what extent is Shockwave able to see where our destiny lies? To what extent could he be convinced? But this must be done with great care, and none of our guests in the next few days are to see this place, or know of its existence. Nor of the laboratory, or the vault, or the stored materials. The time is not yet right."

Rook inclines his head. "I'll see to it that they don't follow me."

Jhiaxus says, "Good. I suppose the real question, for the moment, is: to what extent is Shockwave flexible in his thinking? To what extent bound to this dead world? I have a nearly complete starship and a cache of energon I would offer him, but he must meet me halfway first."

Rook nods. "I'll see what information I can get from his troops."

Rook rubs his chin. "It shall be interesting at the very least to mingle with others."

Jhiaxus says, "Excellent. We will watch all of them carefully while they are here - other than that, they are to be treated with the utmost hospitality. And you will move out among them ... question them subtly, you're good at that."

Rook smiles ever so slightly. "Indeed. I'll get to that right away."

Jhiaxus levels a stern look at his subcommander before leading the way back to the upward passage. "Remember - no one on the outside is to suspect. Not yet."

Rook says, "Yes, commander."

Jhiaxus's optics flicker once, casting one last look back at the starship, before turning to enter the dark passage.


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