There is other equipment across the room that
you can't identify, but what catches your interest is
what is in the left corner of the room. As you
inspect it more clearly, it appears to be a small
hole dug into the ground so that probes can be sent
into Pax. Around it is equipment used for drilling,
and you see that the hole is no bigger that a fist.
On a final look around the room you see a computer
terminal, with the words, authorized personal only in
red, and a small box asking for a password under it,
and you wonder...
Obvious exits:
-Out- leads to Hidden Lift.
Starfire arrives from the Hidden Lift.
Whiplash indicates the hole in the ground amidst all
the drilling equipment, now widened to the extent
that Starfire could just fit through in robot mode.
"That's our escape route if we need it. I haven't
been sitting on my tentacles all night. Right now we
got other priorities, though."
Whiplash moves rapidly through the ruin of the lab,
looking for anything workable for their task, as
unlikely as it may be.
Starfire says, "I could hurt them... Not much, but
if I engaged FTL and rammed, that should do some
damage, if I'm aimed right."
Whiplash whirls on Starfire, her optics blazing
bright. "I'm not sending you on a suicide mission,
kid."
Whiplash says, "We'll find another way."
Starfire crosses her arms and says stubbornly, "It's
better than being a slave."
Whiplash says, "We're not slaves now, are we? Come on, help
me search. We'll give 'em a going-away present yet.""
Starfire sighs. "What are we looking for?"
Whiplash grabs hold of a fallen plate of metal and
pulls it roughly aside, sending it to the floor
behind her in a noisy clatter.
Starfire looks around, but hasn't a clue as to what
she's supposed to find.
Starfire receives a radio message.
Whiplash says, "Explosive device. Anything powerful enough
to blow a hole in their shields. Don't ask me how
we're going to get it there, but that's the next step
to worry about."
Starfire says, "Diktat's asking if I'm with you. He
called me a Rebel sister earlier."
Diktat transmits: 'Are you around, sister?'.
Whiplash kicks a piece of jagged broken metal out of
her path. "Tell him you're working for the Decepticon
cause."
Starfire transmits a radio message.
Whiplash transmits 'Vortex, you close by? Still in that
stash?' to Vortex.
Starfire receives a radio message.
Vortex transmits: 'affirmative....still searching.'.
Starfire is paying more attention to the transmission
than to where she's going and trips and falls,
growling in annoyance. That puts her right next to a
strange looking device. She eyes it, then realizes
that it's simply a drill, not a bomb.
Whiplash transmits '(very very faint transmission as though
from a great distance away ... all you get is
static....)' to Diktat.
[OOC] Whiplash says, "Diktat tries to radio me, but
it's probably too far away...."
Diktat transmits: 'If you're just hissing into your
mike, I will be very disapointed.'.
Whiplash transmits 'Our timetable just got stepped up.
Contact on the planet says the troops are packing up
to leave. I won't let them break orbit without a
going-away present!"' to Vortex.
Whiplash pages Diktat with 'It's clearly static caused by
a great distance, not hissing. :) I probably cant'
hear you either.'.
From afar, Diktat grins. It's just Diktat being
Diktat :) On the other hand, he wouldn't put it past
you faking a static by just linking your radio
through a system to produce it and listen in on your
channel.
Vortex transmits: 'I'm out on the surface.....here's
my suggestion...we have Starfire use her stealth to
manuver into their escape path....then we plant a
missile with a delay...then we haul aft to our hidey
hole....blam....'.
Whiplash looks up. "Anything from the planet, Star?
Vortex transmits: 'perhaps we can destroy the ship
and trap some of them on the surface.....easy
pickings.'.
Starfire rises to her feet and starts tossing smaller
pieces into a corner and out of the way, sort of
cleaning up as she goes. Metal scrap, loose
components, small tools, ripped-up equipment. The
stuff that looks salvageable, she sets aside.
Starfire says, "Not since I answered him."
Whiplash transmits 'I'm not setting her in the path of that
thing. We set a bomb, or missile, or mine - I don't
care what, at this point, off into orbit towards
them. But we gotta find one, is the problem. I
don't know about that old stash, and there doesn't
seem to be anything here in the research lab.' to
Vortex.
Whiplash transmits 'You've been out here before, right?
Any other ideas?' to Vortex.
Vortex transmits: 'that's what I mean....we go with
her....leave the bomb...then later when they head out
it attacks them head on from their exit
vector....they'll never understand how the attack
came from space.'.
Whiplash transmits 'We could set it in orbit to reach 'em
'casually'. Then they'd have no direction of attack
either. Just something that drifted into their path
and blew up.' to Vortex.
Whiplash growls. "I don't think there's anything
here.
Starfire says, "I wouldn't expect to find bombs in a
lab."
Whiplash says, "Or in a repair bay either. Still - you'd
think they're working on some experimental weapons or
some-such."
Vortex transmits: 'right....but a something that goes
nuke.....they'll be looking for the culprit...if it
comes from deep space, we can blame the aliens who
ripped up the moonbase or whatnot.'.
Whiplash mutters, "Damn." Her tentacles thrash as she
considers the next most likely spot.
Starfire receives a radio message.
Whiplash transmits 'Or something that just happened to be
in our orbit. Old mine or something that everyone
forgot about. Who's to know where it came from? Right
now we just gotta find one, then we'll worry about
the direction we launch it from.' to Vortex.
Starfire transmits a radio message.
Starfire receives a radio message.
Starfire transmits a radio message.
Starfire receives a radio message.
Whiplash says, "Vortex is still outside. Doesn't sound like
he's having much better luck than we are."
Starfire transmits a radio message.
Whiplash says, "Alright. Shall we try that old stash of
stuff again? Vortex seemed to think it was out of the
era of fission bombs, whenever that is, but there's
so much dust you can't tell what's there."
Starfire grins. "He's a helicopter, isn't he? Blow it
away."
Starfire receives a radio message.
Starfire transmits a radio message.
Whiplash chuckles in spite of her aggitation. "Sure,
and then we have dust in the air and can't see
anything. Pity it's not that easy."
Starfire says, "I don't think Diktat is interested in
resisting any more."
Whiplash kicks another broken piece of someting out
of her way. "What's going on down there?"
Starfire says, "He just told me to call back when I
was ready to give up."
Vortex arrives from the Hidden Lift.
Whiplash's optics flash bright in fury. "What??!"
Starfire says, "I asked him if it was fun to be a
slave. He hasn't answered yet."
Vortex drags in a composite plasteel case about half
the height of himself.
Vortex quirks a brow "huh?"
Starfire receives a radio message.
Whiplash says, "To the smelting pits with him. We'll show
'em how it's done." She looks up sharply as Vortex
enters. "What's this?""
Starfire transmits a radio message.
Whiplash moves quickly over to Vortex, eyeing his
find hopefully. She doesn't recognize it, but is
ready to use anything with a possibility of having an
impact now.
Starfire is looking rather sulky at the radio
conversation she's having, but looks up at Vortex's
arrival, welcoming the distracting.
Starfire receives a radio message.
Vortex says, "smelting pits for who?"
Whiplash waves a tentacle dismissively. "Those that
don't want to stick up for themselves."
Starfire sighs. "Here's what he's saying... 'I
suggest that due to the change in the situation, you
should discuss terms.'"
Vortex opens the latches on the case and reveals a
small tactical topedo. "it's small, but it's an old
fission weapon...very dirty...very powerful."
Whiplash says, "Maybe they need to be reminded how."
Whiplash's optics widen. "You actually found
something out of that mess?"
Whiplash crouches down, regarding the weapon as
though their whole future hinged upon it. "Is it -
functional still?"
Vortex says, "found some old weapons....this looks
like it was a reload for some old tf."
Vortex says, "dunno...."
Whiplash looks hopefully to Vortex. "You know
anything about it? How we might set it off?"
Whiplash stands. "Well, whatever it is and however it
works, if we throw it hard enough against the
shields, I'd bet it would go off. Now we can only
hope it packs a major blast.
Starfire frowns. "It wouldn't get close enough, if it
was moving under its own power. They'd see it first
and blow it up."
Starfire says, "No way to put a timing thing on it?"
Vortex finds a port under the access plate of the
bomb "it's old...but seems to be standard uplink.."
Whiplash looks from Vortex to Starfire as she
considers, her tentacles undulating around her. "I'm
still thinking thrusters. Or an explosive charge. Let
it drift till it's right up close - and -- hey! What
about dressing it like an asteroid like we did the
satellite? Is there time for that still?"
Vortex plugs it into the r&d computer "system: run
systems check.."
Starfire says, "Hmmmm. There should be lots of
meteorites on this moon..."
Whiplash says, "Careful with that thing, Vortex. We don't
want it to go off here."
Starfire says, "I saw a welder in this scrap
somewhere..." She steps over to the small pile of
tools she set aside earlier and picks up the tool in
question. "... right here."
Vortex reads the schematics and mumbles "ummm......."
Whiplash takes an involuntary half-step back from
Vortex's fiddling with the small torpedo.
Whiplash says, "Star, why don't you find us some asteroid
bits on the surface? We'll need fewer than we did for
the satellite, this is a little smaller - and it just
has to hold together long enough to reach the
shields."
Starfire says, "Sure. I'll be back in a bit."
Starfire enters the Hidden Lift <-Out->.
The computer emits: energy cells-stable, ion-
thrusteer - stable, telemetry - stable, primer cell -
stable, detonator - stable.
Whiplash inches back closer to Vortex, the tips of
her tentacles flickering back and forth. "Anything?"
she asks, barely restraining her impatience.
Vortex says, "oh, uh looks like it'll work.....but I
think it's gonna have to hit her head on....so I
don't see how we'll launch it undetected..."
Whiplash says, "Hm. We don't have anything to outright
fire it out of, that I've seen. Computer said
something about ion thrusters - you think they can be
set for a certain course?"
Vortex says, "telemetry...thrusters...it's a
torpedo.....I think you just give it a target and let
it chase...."
Starfire arrives from the Hidden Lift.
Whiplash sighs in frustration. "Damn, I wish we had
an explosives expert around. Thing is, we send it
tearing after the ship and they got a chance to shoot
it down before it ever gets there. If it drifts up
close and then we activate the directional
thrusters-?"
Whiplash nods to Starfire a bit distractedly.
Starfire staggers in under a load of asteroid
fragments, all broken off from the same parent
asteroid and looking exactly like anything you
might find drifting in Cybertronian orbit, because
that's exactly where they came from. She drops the
pieces on the floor, sighing in relief.
Whiplash looks up from her thoughts and hurries over
to help, though by then Starfire has already put the
fragments down. She selects a few pieces to start
with. "Now, where was that welder?"
Whiplash says, "Vortex, you think you can set this thing to
respond to us over our satellite link?"
Vortex mutters and studies the bomb....
Starfire bends over and scoops up the welder. "A
little small, but that makes for a more thorough
job."
Starfire glances at Vortex and the bomb. "I guess
there were no instructions with it?"
Vortex says, "you wanna talk to it for a bit....I'm
getting a headache."
Whiplash props two of the asteroid ore pieces up
together, eyeing the torpedo casing as though giving
it a rough optical measure, and then puts them at an
angle to each other, nodding to Starfire to bring the
welder.
Vortex rubs his temples
Whiplash scowls. "Is it giving off radiation?"
Vortex says, "no...I'm just having a hard time
thinking thru all these schematics and things."
Starfire says, "Maybe you should take a rest for a
bit? Schematics aren't any fun, unless you know what
you're doing."
Vortex says, "which I don't..."
Vortex sits down and thinks.
Whiplash says, "Yeah, I hear you. Look, we may not have the
tech skills here, but we can still work with this.
Think about it. What would Megatron do in our place?
He'd come up with some way to still pull it off,
right?"
Vortex thinks about Pompeii and some curvy femme
fanning him with a cyberpalm-frond and serving him an
ener-daquiri.
Starfire says, "Megatron would just blow away the
ship without all this work."
Vortex grins and then nods to star's comment.
Whiplash says, "Yeah, but even he couldn't go up against it
alone. And wouldn't risk the lot of us to do it,
sorry though we may be." She grins, making it clear
she's kidding.
Vortex says, "Meg's would probably blow away Deadeye
for even thinking about taking command.....and then
blow away each alien individually."
Starfire notes, "That would take a looooong time.
There's a lot of 'em."
Whiplash says, "Now that last part, I can handle. Given
time. But we don't have time. So let's come up with
something here. If we have to spit it right in their
faces, they're getting this bomb to go home with
them."
Whiplash positions another piece of asteroid to form
another part of the casing, still leaving plenty of
room to insert the torpedo. She nods to Starfire to
weld the seam.
Vortex reads something on the screen "now this is
interesting.......emissions tracking..."
Vortex says, "it can follow their engine wake.....so
if we activate it and push it so it orbits till it
passes thru their wake....?""
Starfire trips the switch to activate the welder,
then adjusts it a medium aperture and short length.
As Whiplash holds the pieces together, she begins to
sweep the torch across each edge over and over again.
Starfire glances up. "Just leave it in a slower orbit
than they are. They'll eventually catch up to it..."
Whiplash says, "And then activate the emissions tracking
and sent it after them!"
Starfire says, "If it moves out of synch with the
rest of the drifting asteroids, they'll know
something's wrong."
Vortex says, "about the time it hits them in the aft
they'll know somethings wrong....."
Whiplash nods. "That's why we can't send it right
toward 'em until it's close enough that they can't
avoid it.
Whiplash nods to Vortex, and shows her serrated fangs
in a grin. "That's what I'm hoping."
Vortex says, "we might as well figure out how long
till it hits the wake...then have a timed charge
split the asteroid shell to let it go after them."
Starfire concentrates on her welding, heating the
edges to red-hot temperatures, then white hot until
they soften. She sets the torch aside for the moment
and helps Whiplash press the pieces together.
Vortex goes and gets a small blasting charge from a
locker "leave a seam so we can crack the shell
open.."
Whiplash says, "Alright. If you can set a timer like that,
let's do that. Don't know how long it'll take them to
make another pass."
Whiplash steps over to carefully maneuver the small
torpedo over into the half-completed casing.
Starfire nods to Vortex, giving the new seam a few
minutes to set before releasing the pressure. She
picks up the torch again and starts on the next two
fragments.
Vortex nods "that's why we have the satellite up
there "apogee: calculate projected intercept time for
the alien vessel.." he mutters into the makeshift
satellite uplink station.
Whiplash fits the torpedo inside, keeping it
carefully away from the heat of the welder, and lets
it rest against the irregular inside surface.
Apogee replies "37 minutes on my
mark .... 4 ... 3 ... 2 ... 1 ... mark"
Vortex synchronizes the detonator on the blasting
charge "doesn't have to be perfect...that's a big
ship...I'm sure there's a nice radiation wake behind
it..."
Starfire heats them to brilliant white-hot
temperatures, dimming her amber optics to compensate
for so much light. It does take time, as she
doesn't want the metal running like water, just
softened. On finishing the heating process, she once
again presses the two pieces together to form a seal.
Starfire examines her work, the pieces forming a
roughly hemispherical shape. "When this cools down,
you can put the bomb inside. I'll be working on the
other half of it."
Vortex puts the torpedo on the counter and rips the
cushioned padding out of the case and begins to tuck
it inside the shell....it smoulders for a few seconds
attaching to the makeshift shell as it melts.
Starfire seems to have some experience in welding,
making no obvious errors or clumsy mistakes. She
welds the last fragments of the second half into
place, sealing the other half of the rough sphere and
glancing over to see how the bomb is doing. "I'll be
ready to weld the two halfs together when this part
cools a little."
Whiplash nods approvingly. "Great."
Whiplash stands back, feeling a little useless, and
lets Vortex and Starfire do their parts, as they seem
to have more experience at their respective tasks
than she does.
Starfire steps back and examines her work
thoughtfully. The welds are done and cooling nicely,
but she's not satisfied. She heats up various areas
around the welds seemingly at random. The metal
softens and deforms, and she molds it almost
artistically. "Okay, done. The seams were showing too
much, so I made it look more like a real asteroid
again."
Whiplash says, "Okay. Let's head out to the launch pad.
Starfire, can you patch in to the satellite's
readings?"
Starfire says, "I might... never tried it before, but
if it's set from here to broadcast to my frequency,
it should work."
Starfire enters the Hidden Lift <-Out->.
Vortex enters the Hidden Lift <-Out->.
You enter the Hidden Lift.
Starfire enters the Launch Pad <-5->.
You enter the Launch Pad.
Launch Pad
Strobe lights flicker on and off to make
landing a shuttle a simple task. This being unlike
the rest of Quarius Prime is new, and up kept. Two
flags with the Decepticon sigil on them flap in the
lunar winds, and do not think this place is left
undefended. Two plasma turrets sit across from
another to keep out any unwelcomed visitors. Why is
there a Decepticon landing platform out in the middle
of nowhere?
Starfire
Vortex
Dead Troopers
Obvious exits:
-N- North leads to Planetward <XY>.
-Up- leads to Quarius Prime Orbit.
Starfire transforms into her starship mode.
The Starship opens her airlock.
Vortex boards the scoutship.
You board the scoutship.
Starship
Reinforced steel bulkheads curve steeply on both
sides of this ship's interior, more comfortable than
most transports. There are two rows of six seats
staggered on each side of the center aisle, cushioned
for both protection and comfort. The seats can swivel
towards the aisle to unfold into beds for the
passengers. There are six monitor screens set forward
of the seats, displaying visuals of the six
relational directions. From the complexity of the
readouts, they can also shift to read radar signals.
To the aft is a fair-sized storage hold for supplies,
presently empty, and from the empty ports, vacant
jacks, cabinets, and tables, was originally a
laboratory.
Contents:
Vortex
The Starship seals her airlock.
Whiplash helps Vortex position the second 'asteroid'
securely in place for liftoff.
Vortex straps in and waits.
Outside, Starship lifts off lightly under the lesser
gravity, engaging her radar stealth as she rises
slowly upwards.
Outside, Starship enters the Quarius Prime Orbit.
Outside, Starship eases up on her thrust, slowing
even more as she approaches Cybertronian orbit. Even
though Sulaco is on the other side of the planet from
them, she takes all precautions.
Whiplash says, "How far are we from that monstrosity,
Star?"
Outside, Starship says, "It's about a third of the
planet's circumfrance from us, according to the
satellite."
Outside, Starship eases upwards into roughly the same
altitude as Sulaco and slows even more, almost to a
drift. She scans under her lowest power rating,
looking for the appropriate kind of asteroid debris.
Whiplash watches the screen intently.
Vortex does as well.
Outside, Starship bypasses a few that look perfectly
all right, but she's looking for something more
specific... Finally she matches velocity to a small
cluster of asteroids, becoming relatively motionless
in relation to them. "This is just right. These
asteroids are moving at the right speed and
trajectory to pass very close to the ship."
Outside, The Starship opens her airlock.
Outside, Starship says, "Give it a gentle push out
here."
Vortex nods to Whiplash.
Whiplash stands and nudges the asteroid toward the
airlock with Vortex, being careful not to jostle it
too much.
Whiplash says, "Here it goes."
Vortex lets whip handle the delicate work.
Whiplash gently gives it a final push, then stands in
the open airlock a moment and says, "Give 'em hell!"
Outside, The Starship seals her airlock.
Outside, Starship leaves just as carefully and gently
as she came.
Outside, Starship enters the Quarius Prime Orbit.
Outside, Starship enters the Launch Pad.
Outside, The Starship opens her airlock.
You disembark from the scoutship.
Launch Pad
Strobe lights flicker on and off to make
landing a shuttle a simple task. This being unlike
the rest of Quarius Prime is new, and up kept. Two
flags with the Decepticon sigil on them flap in the
lunar winds, and do not think this place is left
undefended. Two plasma turrets sit across from
another to keep out any unwelcomed visitors. Why is
there a Decepticon landing platform out in the middle
of nowhere?
Starship [Starfire]
Dead Troopers
Obvious exits:
-N- North leads to Planetward <XY>.
-Up- leads to Quarius Prime Orbit.
Vortex disembarks from the scoutship.
Vortex has arrived.
Whiplash looks toward the stars. "Let's watch the
show from the command center, shall we?"
Vortex disappears into the shadows...
You enter the Hidden Lift.
Starfire arrives from the Launch Pad.
You enter the Portal.
Portal
From the outside, nothing indicates the
advance state of development of this temporary
command center. The cavern gradually widens from the
long pathway leading in and culminating into what
could be a multi-level hangar. Huge view screens of
ancient design are mounted in the wall on one side of
this half natural, half constructed area. Computer
banks in front of the screens were obviously placed
there to run the now darkened displays. In the center
of the room is a raised central oversight, designed
for whoever commanded the moon to watch over all
aspects of operations via the display screens.
A fine layer of dust covers everything now,
though. Occasionally, there's a pulse of energy
through the screens and computer banks, leading you
to believe that something of use might still be in
the memory systems.
Obvious exits:
-Up- leads to Hidden Lift.
Starfire arrives from the Hidden Lift.
Vortex transmits: 'head to the observatory.'.
Starfire says, "If it's on automatic, maybe we should
go back to Cybertron. There'll be a lot of people
looking around after the bomb goes off."
Starfire says, "I don't want to be trapped here."
Whiplash transmits 'It's destroyed. If they do come after
us for some reason, I want to be underground. There's
an escape route underneath the base.' to Vortex.
Vortex arrives from the Hidden Lift.
Whiplash nods. "But it'll take 'em a while to get
themselves together."
Starfire says, "There are plenty of shuttles down
there, and I don't want to fight them."
Vortex nods
Whiplash steps toward the screen that's tracking the
satellite readings. "Right, we'll take off as soon as
the explosion goes off. I just want to know what
damage we do."
Whiplash motions the other two closer so they can see
as well.
Starfire says, "Darkmount's scanners have reached
orbit before, too, for that other alien ship. We may
be seen. I think they'll know about me anyway. Only
another ship could get at their mercenaries."
Vortex nods "do they know you've rebelled?"
Starfire says, "Diktat called me a Rebel, so I guess
so."
Vortex nods "lovely..."
Whiplash bares her fangs momentarily. "'Rebel.'
Where's he been all his life?"
Starfire says, "Someone told me recently that I
should be playing to win, not just survive..."
Starfire sits down abruptly on the floor, not
bothering to find a seat. She sighs and leans her
head against a wall. "Why do things have to be so...
wrong? It should be easy to do the right thing."
Whiplash counts the seconds.
<Cybertron> For anyone keeping track of such
thing, an explosion flowers in Cybertron's low
orbit.....
The readings on the screen go off the scale as the
bomb detonates.
Vortex grins "I bet that hurt.."
Whiplash laughs.
Starfire climbs wearily to her feet. "I hope that
teaches them a lesson. Then again, the lesson needs
to be learned by other people, too..."
<Cybertron> Sensors tuned to the sky would
detect a huge ship, shields down, structurally
damaged along one side - apparently with weapons
systems and perhaps others knocked out. For a moment
all its power readings flicker -- then it comes back
to life, apparently not crippled beyond movement.
Starfire says, "We need to hide now. They're
scrambling."
<Cybertron> What seems to be a strange form of
proton radiation can be detected in orbit.
<Cybertron> In the various Autobot and
Decepticon bases, warnings go off, as a low yield
proton discharge was just caused.
Whiplash says, "They're still alive - looks like shields
are out, but - still moving."
Whiplash looks to the others, triumph flashing bright
in her optics. "But we gave 'em something to remember
us by! Great job!
Whiplash says, "Alright, let's get the hell out of here."
Vortex grins "ok...now we run!
Starfire says, "I know a planet not far from here, if
we can make it away. It's kinda too late, though.
They're scrambled already."
Starfire enters the Hidden Lift <-Up->.
You enter the Hidden Lift.
You enter the Launch Pad.
The Starship opens her airlock.
You board the scoutship.
Starship
Reinforced steel bulkheads curve steeply on both
sides of this ship's interior, more comfortable than
most transports. There are two rows of six seats
staggered on each side of the center aisle, cushioned
for both protection and comfort. The seats can swivel
towards the aisle to unfold into beds for the
passengers. There are six monitor screens set forward
of the seats, displaying visuals of the six
relational directions. From the complexity of the
readouts, they can also shift to read radar signals.
To the aft is a fair-sized storage hold for supplies,
presently empty, and from the empty ports, vacant
jacks, cabinets, and tables, was originally a
laboratory.
Outside, Vortex arrives from the Hidden Lift.
Vortex enters the scoutship.
Outside, Starship says, "Nothing on radar yet.
Engaging radar stealth."
Outside, The Starship seals her airlock.
Whiplash waits at the airlock for Vortex.
Outside, Starship enters the Quarius Prime Orbit.
Outside, Starship says, "Shall I try to make it to
Cybertron?"
Whiplash watches the screen, her tentacles thrashing
around her, this time in excitement rather than
aggitation. "You got a clear path back to the
canyon?"
Outside, Starship enters the Cybertron High Orbit.
Whiplash says, "If not, we head outward."
Outside, Starship enters the Low Cybertron Orbit.
Outside, Starship enters the Southern Stratosphere.
Outside, Starship says, "Entering stratosphere..."
Outside, Starship enters the Sky above Proving
Grounds.
Outside, Starship enters the Sky Above Old
Cybertronia.
Outside, Starship enters the Sky Above Crystal City.
Outside, Starship enters the Sky above Ruined
Outpost.
Outside, Starship enters the Sky above Trench.
Whiplash says, "I don't see any flyers up ahead."
Outside, Starship enters the Sky above Asteroid
Canyon.
Outside, Starship enters the Asteroid Canyon
<South>.
Vortex watches the screen
Outside, Starship enters the Canyon Floor.
Outside, Starship hovers in the air. "You'll have to
get out here."
Outside, The Starship opens her airlock.
Whiplash nods, and leaps out the airlock, activating
her flight engines as she does so.
You disembark from the scoutship.
Canyon Floor
Marked with a number of dark tunnels and
passages, the canyon floor has become a place of
hiding for many of the refugees of war. Long
forgotten safe-holds likely line the walls, guarded
by traps, tripwires, and things which could prove
more dangerous.
Starship [Starfire]
Obvious exits:
-U- Up leads to Asteroid Canyon <South>.
-S- South leads to Trench Floor.
Vortex disembarks from the scoutship.
Vortex has arrived.
Starfire transforms into her robot mode.
Whiplash hovers downward, landing lightly on the
ground.
Vortex enters the Trench Floor <-S- South>.
Starfire drops wearily to the ground.
Vortex disappears into the shadows...
Starfire disappears into the shadows...
You enter the Access Check Point.
Access Check Point
This is a small landing with a computer
screen on one wall and a hatch leading down. To the
right is the lift that goes to the surface.
Starfire
Vortex
Obvious exits:
-S- South leads to Canyon Floor.
-N- North leads to Supply Cache.
Whiplash stops once inside, as though still waiting
for some commotion outside.
Whiplash looks to the others, faintly amazed.
"Nothing. We pulled it off!" She grins, showing her
serrated fangs. "So what was that about giving up?"
Vortex wanders over to his box....."ok..enough
excitement for this cycle.."
Starfire nods in agreement with Vortex then says to
Whiplash, "We're not giving up, that was Diktat's
idea."
Whiplash jokes, "Oh, I don't know. You sure you don't
want to go face down Deadeye after our success?"
Vortex says, "um....no."
Starfire shakes her head violently.
Whiplash nods to Starfire. "I know. Maybe that gave
him and the others something to think about."
Vortex says, "maybe they'll need another message if
they don't get that one."
Starfire says, "I hope they learn. Invading Cybertron
with aliens isn't the right way to challenge for
leadership."
Whiplash curls her tentacles lightly around herself,
an entirely pleased gesture. "Maybe they will. But
you know we're up to it."
Whiplash reaches out a hand and places it briefly on
Starfire's shoulder. Her optics flicker
conspiratorially. "We'll make a warrior of you yet.
What do you think, Vortex?"
Vortex grins "it's looking more and more
promising..."
Whiplash nods. "Well. I for one could use some
energon. Let's see what we've got stashed."
Vortex enters his box to get the energon out.
You enter the Supply Cache.
Supply Cache
This room is not very big, but is packed wall
to wall with crates, all neatly stacked and labeled.
There is a small very ancient looking sensor station
and computer terminal along one wall.
Makeshift Quarters
Obvious exits:
-S- South leads to Access Check Point.
Vortex arrives from the Access Check Point.
Vortex has left.
Starfire arrives from the Access Check Point.
From Makeshift Quarters <mq>, Vortex mumbles
and shuffles around a bit.
Starfire listens and asks, "Maybe I should volunteer
to investigate."
Whiplash pulls a lid off one of the crates where she
remembered some supplies, and pokes around a bit
inside. She looks up questioningly. "Volunteer?
Didn't you say Diktat was on to you?"
Starfire dohs. "Never mind. I'm just... tired."
Whiplash says, "I'm not surprised. Sit. We'll celebrate."
Whiplash returns to her digging in the crate.
Vortex has arrived.
Vortex drags out a set of small survival grade
energon cubes.
Whiplash comes upon a flask right about the same
time, a faintly glowing blueish form of distilled
energon.
Whiplash sets the flask next to the energon, within
reach of everyone, and then seats herself on the edge
of a crate, taking one of the small cubes for
herself.
Starfire gauges her fuel meters and shakes her head.
"I don't need to refuel, which is a good thing, since
I don't ingest stuff like that."
Vortex takes a cube and draws a glass off the flask
"ah....it's good for you...."
Whiplash grins. "It's not that bad."
Vortex says, "starfire doesn't imbibe....she got
reprimanded last time, no?"
Starfire says, "The first and last time I ever tried
any of that stuff, I found myself trying to go find
Lord Megatron, then Commander Shockwave was going to
punish me."
Vortex says, "you're a bit older now....perhaps you
could handle it better...."
Starfire says, "And it tasted awful anyway."
Whiplash downs the small cube of energon with
apparent relish. She chuckles. "You haven't tasted
awful yet, Star."
Vortex says, "ah...the aged stuff is much better....I
don't drink that crude slag."
Whiplash says, "When you have to drain the life-fuel out of
some rust-eaten scrounger that's dropped dead at your
feet in order to continue moving on, now that's
awful."
Whiplash shrugs. "Sometimes you can't be so picky."
Whiplash turns and digs about in the crate some more,
coming up with a small glass, which she fills from
the blue-glowing flask. She sips it carefully.
Vortex says, "I was speaking of preference in
drinking for enjoyment...for survival is much
different."
Whiplash nods, holding up her glass. "Now this
stuff is excellent. Wouldn't down a whole lot of it
myself, no sense in losing the edge - but a bit here
and there, I don't mind." She holds the glass out to
Starfire. "Just a sip?"
Starfire makes a face and edges back. "No, thanks."
Vortex grins "we'll keep you out of trouble if you
have too much..."
Whiplash shrugs. "Suit yourself." She sips at her
glass contentedly.
Whiplash leans back comfortably. "Whatever happens
now, we've made a point. Let's see what Deadeye has
to say to that."
Vortex says, "we've probably made an enemy too."
Whiplash seems unconcerned. "He'll thank us if he
lives long enough. Say, they don't suspect you're in
on any of this, do they, Vortex?"
Starfire says, "I think Vortex is the only one of us
who isn't known."
Vortex says, "no....which means I should be showing
up in darkmount any second."
Vortex gets up ... feel free to use my
"quarters" .... survival gear is inside there.
Whiplash nods thoughtfully. "You were on patrol, so
the 'Bots didn't take advantage of the troop
withdrawal."
Starfire says, "Be careful."
Vortex enters the Access Check Point <-S-
South>.
Starfire says, "It's kinda... sad that Diktat wants
us to surrender."
Whiplash looks after Vortex a moment, then downs the
rest of her glass. She gives Starfire another smile.
"I'll be curious what he says now."
Whiplash stretches her tentacles a little, and puts
the flask and the remaining energon away. "Tell you
what, Star - you get some rest. I'll watch the door."
Whiplash says, "Not like anyone could get in here who's not
cleared, but just in case."
Starfire says, "Maybe we could put some stuff in
front of the door so they'd trip over it."
Whiplash says, "Right. Like a say a MedusaSaur?"
Whiplash transforms into MedusaSaur.
MedusaSaur gives Starfire a conspiratorial smile.
"You just relax. Things are going to go okay now."
Starfire sits on the floor and leans against the
wall, but doesn't fall asleep. As tired as she's
been, she hasn't been sleeping much since the
invasion.
MedusaSaur pauses before disappearing into the
entrance passage, and looks back to regard Starfire.
"Don't worry," she says quietly. "You're safe here."
MedusaSaur turns and heads for a guard post by the
door.
You enter the Access Check Point.
Access Check Point
This is a small landing with a computer
screen on one wall and a hatch leading down. To the
right is the lift that goes to the surface.
Obvious exits:
-S- South leads to Canyon Floor.
-N- North leads to Supply Cache.