|
Who: Impactor, Warsong, Hinder, Harrow, Sunder, Crosshairs, Gears, Astrotrain |
|
|
New Cybertron Highway <Far East>
The highway revitalization project has not reached these equatorial lanes yet; many lights and communication relays are missing. Cybertron's golden age is but a distant memory, visible only in the threadbare glitter of pyrite encrusting the slowly moldering residential superstructures along these narrow, claustrophobic two-lane stretches. Although there is no overt defacing of the buildings, neither bomb blasts nor char from fires, there do seem to be a lot of missing fixtures, as if anything not nailed down had disappeared. Neglect is rampant. At least the skies are clear: the scintillating form of Tria sparkles brilliantly in the bejeweled night skies. The ramps and overpasses that lead to the south echo the hollow desolation of the abandoned planetary surface.
Amid the vast highways that are found on Cybertron, one lonely Wrecker can be found wandering the deserted streets. The landscape and surrounding areas are quite barren, vital things are missing from any functioning super structure that links Cybertron.
Crouched down low, Impactor is surveyting the hilly land ... "Blast, that won't do." he mutters to himself, making a small mark on the data-pad and turning his attention eastward.
Warsong makes his way along New Cybertron Highway, his broad shoulders swaying with each step that he takes. Brawn and bravado are the flavors of the day it seems, as he leads a small gang of Decepticons down the dimly lit sections of the highway's Far Eastern sector. "So, basically I told them to do their worst, and that all of the Autobots can go eat SLAG!" he finishes one of his stories about the time that he was pinned to the Grand Canyon wall and interrogated by Grimlock and his Mercenary buddy. "Yes, they were not pleased... Not at all. I just hope the rest of their lot got to view the camera feed," he adds with a chortle.
The tiniest hint of...something in the distance catches Warsong's attention as he'd begun to glance back at the other Cons. Something...non-Con. "Hmmm," the Provoker muses to himself before tilting his head a bit to one side. "Spread out... Stay out of sight and track me. If trouble brews...come a-knockin'."
Sunder is perched on a building overlooking the alley. He should be able to spot the prey from here, but hopefully the prey will not spot him. He scans, to try to pin down the source.
Hinder is...currently nothing more than an odd, tiny, off-white rectangular patch on the back of Warsong's left shoulder.
Harrow is in no mood to be out and about, but orders are orders... so she does as instructed and fans out, taking a running jump to transform. She coasts low over the charred structures, not quite paying attention to anything below, lost in frivolous thought.
Surveying east, Impactor raises the scanner held in the other hand and peers through the goggles ... intensifying and magnigying his vision to percieve all the terrain's rise and falls. With a shake of his head, it appears whatever lies east, it is not suitable for his plans. Rising, the Wrecker Leader supspaces the datapad and stretches backwards, letting a yawn escape his gaping maw. "Hruahh. How did I get pigeon-holed into this? This is totally a Jumpstarter job!" he laughs to himself, looking south.
While the other Decepticons fan out to different locations along the highway prime for observation, Warsong takes the direct approach as he decides to investigate the lone shadowy figure farther along the bridge. It doesn't take long before Impactor is revealed to his optics, and having not seen the other mech since they'd fought at the facility near Pyracon he actually grins at the recognition. "Well, well, well! What have we here?" he barks, chuckling. "Is that who I think it is? You old bucket of bolts, slag-faced, lubricant eatin' Auto-frak. You must be looking for a ripe aft beating..being out here all alone. How ya been?"
F-16 Falcon <Harrow> follows the vocalizations and simply circles overhead, waiting for the order to attack, wishing it would come sooner. But no, Warsong wanted to make idle prattle first. Had this been earlier, she would have already fired upon the Wrecker, but she's /attempting/ to behave lest more punishment befalls her. What's a Wrecker doing out here all alone, anyway?
Sunder leaves the alley-area and makes his way over to the bridge as well. He places himself opposite Warsong, on the other side of Impactor. He snickers and bares his talons. "Oh my, the prey goes out walking alone. This will be simple."
The tiny patch of off-white falls off of Warsong's shoulder and onto the bridge, the light clatter of it settling masked by Sunder's voice. The little cassette promptly expands out into a still-very-small ferret-shape, hopefully hidden from Impactor's line of sight by Warsong's feet.
"Ha, I could say the same fer you Decepticreep." Impactor barks back over his shoulder, still allowing the Decepticon to walk forward from behind. Pulling the datapad back out of subspace, Impactor transmits the contents under an encoded Wrecker frequency, then proceeds to erase all files. One can't be overly cautious when dealing with such intricate and tedious planning.
Turning around, he places both instruments back in subspace. "Oh you know, figured I'd take a stroll ... see the sights ... maybe Wreck up a nosey Con like you? Now howabout I forget I saw you, and you get lost ASAP?"
Warsong chortles softly and shakes his head, "Absolutely not." Lifting his left hand high into the air the Decepticon snaps his fingers to get the attention of the other Cons. "Harrow! You're up!" he barks, and then lowers his hand only to point at Impactor. "Make the Wrecker squeal..." With that he folds his arms over his chest and his optics narrow ever so slightly, though a smirk is firmly planted on his face as he watches Impactor. "Sunder, you're on deck..."
Sunder grins at Impactor and nods at Warsong. "Oh my, I'm afraid I can't let you go," he nearly purrs to the Autobot, "I can't leave until I've taken down my prey." The Sweep lunges at the Wrecker, talons bared. Slash-slash go the pretty pink claws.
Combat: Sunder strikes Impactor with his Talon Slash! attack! [Pulled -2]
Warsong stomps his foot angrily and snarls as he looks to Sunder. "I said you are on DECK!" he snaps. "Stand down, and resume your position! HARROW is up first... You will wait your turn."
F-16 Falcon <Harrow> truly hates being bossed around by the likes of Warsong. She's going to remember this the next time he's on the med table. "Yes sir," she mutters distantly, diving for a closer shot. "You heard him, squeal!" A few beams fire upon Impactor, aimed for a leg.
Combat: F-16 Falcon <Harrow> misses Impactor with her Laser attack!
Sunder stares at Warsong. Obviously he's not familiar with baseball terms. He must have confused 'on deck' with 'up to bat'!
"My apologies," Sunder says to Warsong, "I was...unaware that the term you used indicated I was to wait." He backs off and lets Harrow take her turn. Hinder yeeks faintly and skitters a few feet away from Warsong's big stompy foot. Maybe it's time to call back and let someone know what's going on.
Impactor's determination seems to grow with the Decepticon's words, his optics clenching closer together and an audible grating of teeth. "Bring it on!!" he roars, making a short dash towards Warsong. Glancing up, he notes Harrow's position in the sky ... just enough time to..CRAP! Out of nowhere, a Sweep swoops in and puts some pink claw marks on his shoulder frame. Aiming an elbow towards Sunder's face, the Wrecker Leader easily dodges out of the laser fire display. "Oh, strength in numbers huh? I see how it is!"
Combat: Impactor sets his defense level to Fearless.
Combat: Impactor strikes Sunder with his Elbow SMASH! (Kick) attack!
Warsong laughs at Impactor and shrugs his shoulders lightly. "Sorry about that... I'm not used to having subordinates. They're harder to control than I thought," he notes, continuing to chortle for a few moments before finally he waves a clawed hand toward Sunder. "It is fine. Your eagerness for battle is commendable... Besides, it looks like you paid for your mistake," is added with certain amusement.
F-16 Falcon <Harrow> curses her aim and circles around for another strafing run upon Impactor, a bit annoyed that he's not firing back. Another rain of laser fire is sent down, and she's not all that concerned if Sunder's in the way.
Combat: F-16 Falcon <Harrow> strikes Impactor with her Disruptor attack!
Sunder yelps as he's elbowed rather harshly. "Indeed," he growls, "And HE shall pay for his insolence!" He jumps back, pulling his disruptor rifle out of subspace. He fires it at Impactor.
Combat: Sunder strikes Impactor with his Disruptor attack!
Hunking forward from two attacks on him, both finding their mark and making nasty work of his systems. Smoke trails from the underside, out and surrounding his bent over form. "RAGAH! Ha, that the best you got?" Impactor shouts, jutting quickly out of the smoke and towards Sunder. It appears Mr. Purple-pants was busy there, in stride it appears Wrecker leader has obviously replaced a hand for the harpoon attachment. Stopping a foot short from the Sweep, he sends out a hook with the harpoon and shoots the weapon up above at Harrow's F-16 form all in one fell motion.
Combat: Impactor strikes Sunder with his Hook-Shot Area attack!
Combat: Impactor strikes F-16 Falcon <Harrow> with his Hook-Shot Area attack!
"Bwahahaha! See? They don't even listen to me!" Warsong cannot help but bark in the same amused tone. "Perhaps if I had a very large cannon like, Lord Master Galvatron... Perhaps then they would be more obedient," he muses, taking the time to ponder this as the other Cons continue their dance with Impactor. Finally though, he remembers something that his superiors once told him... He's far too 'nice'. Turning his attention to Sunder, Warsong slams a fist into an open palm and takes a step toward the Sweep. "STOP ATTACKING HIM OR I WILL EAT YOUR CIRCUITS AND SPIT OUT YOUR SERVOS!!! I want to evaluate Harrow's fighting technique... SO DON'T DO THAT AGAIN! Okay...?"
Sunder pauses again. "Oh," he says, "I was under the impression we were taking alternate turns? If not, well then, I shall stay out of it until you say differently." The hook shot nails the Sweep and he yelps. Now he knows what it feels like to be hooked by the Butcher hero in DOTA Allstars.
Combat: Sunder takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]
Hinder skitters to one side of the bridge where she can watch the goings on and still avoid getting trampled. Her beady little red optics dart between Warsong, Sunder, and Impactor, then up toward the airborne Harrow.
F-16 Falcon <Harrow> apparently isn't swift enough to avoid the hook-shot, with drives cleanly through her nose con, shattering the canopy glass as it exits through the top. She screams, and attempts to wingrock it off, but of course that only winds the chain, "RELEASE ME YOU INGRATE!"
Combat: F-16 Falcon <Harrow> takes extra time to steady herself. [Pass]
Impactor places his other hand on his opposite's wrist, tugging furiously down ... attempting to pull a F-16 out of the sky and crashing to earth. "GRYAH!" he groans loudly, putting all of his strength into it. Success or not, the manuever wracks havoc on his forearm, a tremendous amount of strain and pressure in such a small area ... with out two outlets to disperse the force.
The cable attaching the harpoon whips tight, then suddenly rips through a portion of the wrist housing before the Wrecker Leader can manage to release the cord. Bent over, Impactor grasps at his stump with a serious stress fracture running upwards from it ... spilling mech fluid to the ground.
Combat: Impactor strikes F-16 Falcon <Harrow> with his Tug 'o War! (Smash) attack!
Warsong shakes his head as he watches the tug of war between Harrow and Impactor, and after a brief 'tsk tsk tsk' the Decepticon barks out to his fellow Con. "What are you doing!? You are a Decepticon! Free yourself and force feed him that slaggin' harpoon! If Lord Master Galvatron, or Warlord Scorponok saw you now... CRUSH him, Harrow!" Asiding to Sunder in a whisper, Warsong grins broadly. "This is so exciting!"
Combat: Warsong inspires F-16 Falcon <Harrow> with intimidating and overbearing words!
Sunder nods as he watches Harrow. He's virtually chomping at the bit himself, but holds back so that Harrow can do her thing.
Hinder watches the tug of war, craning her neck a bit to focus on and make note of the damage to Impactor's arm.
At the tug, Harrow is sent violently spinning in the air. She shrieks, even more-so as the harpoon gets ripped back through her nose cone, slicing up all kinds of important things before getting caught. The chain slacks, and Harrow dives down for a rather clumsy transformation. Perhaps not inspire, but Warsong's words did put the fear of Unicron in her, so she grabs the chain and swings it a few times before flinging the harpoon-bit straight for Impactor's helm.
The blue F-16 Falcon Harrow transforms into her robot mode with a swift shift of components.
Combat: Harrow misses Impactor with her Harpoon'ed! (Smash) attack!
Impactor rolls forward, narrowly avoiding the harpoon thrown back at him. Pushing down against the ground, the Wrecker leader propels himself up and forward at Harrow. He pulls a pistol from his boot holster and fires off a couple of pot shots, spiraling in the air like a Jon Woo movie. "Ya know Warsong, call me crazy ... but I think you better send this one to the scrapheap. She couldn't hit the broadside of a beached Klud!"
Combat: Impactor strikes Harrow with his PewPewPew (Pistol) attack!
Warsong squints at Impactor's words. "Probably so... Ugh," he agrees, shaking his head. "Harrow... If you do not hit him soon I am going to be forced to attack you WITH the blasted Autobot, do you hear me?" he snaps. "If you cannot strike your opponent with a level processor... Then throw all caution to the wind and attack with the fury of a violent storm!" Again, Warson glances to Sunder and snickers quietly before radioing to Hinder. "How did that sound? Professional? Leader-like enough?"
Sunder shrugs. "Good enough," he says, "At least, I found it inspiring."
Hinder just looks up at Warsong silently for a moment before turning her eyes back to Impactor and Harrow.
Harrow knows she's being analyzed, and hates it. And she hates being taunted. And she hates Sunder's face. And she hates Warsong's "advice". In fact, she hates everything right now. HATE. "I am /trying/, sir!" she snaps at Warsong, lunging forward to attack with the fury of a violent storm. With her scalpel raised, she attempts to slash Impactor's middle.
Combat: Harrow misses Impactor with her Vibro-Scalpel attack!
Impactor hits the dirt and rolls to the side, allowing the scalpel to carve into Cyberton's crust instead. Looking up at the Seeker, "Do or do not..." at first he starts to throw an uppercut with the injured arm ... only stopping half a foot from her face when he realizes it might cause more harm than good. Continuing with the motion, he sends a straight jab with the other hand, "There is no try!" keeping up with his bobbing and weaving routine.
Combat: Impactor misses Harrow with his Quick Jab! (Punch) attack!
<Autobot> Sergeant Impactor says, "*Static* Decepti.. *Static* Bum rus.. *Static* Injure.. *Static*"
Warsong's chest rises considerably and then falls as he lets out a hefty sigh. "Sunder... Prepare yourself," he states and then jerks his chin toward the Medic. "HARROW! This is your final opportunity to strike the Autobot. If you fail you will be called to stand down, and prepare to observe Sunder in action! If you cannot hit your target... By Megatron, you're going to LEARN from someone that can... You appear frustrated, and THAT IS NO GOOD! You are forgetting the first rule of combat against Autobots... HAVE FUN!"
Sunder tenses with excitement as he awaits his turn. He's practically trembling with anticipation.
Hinder turns to look up at Warsong again, her head tilted almost questioningly at his explanation to have fun. Fighting is supposed to be ... fun?
Harrow is frustrated to say the least. Yes, admittedly she's not having any fun. She's not keen on the idea of taking on Impactor by herself, when there was three... well, two perfectly good Decepticons around to help. What was the point of this! She turns to avoid the jab, and makes to grab Impactor's fist and cleave through his elbow joint.
Combat: Harrow strikes Impactor with her Slice (Kick) attack!
Impactor's arm falls somewhat helpless to his side, his internal systems attempting to quickly repair the minor yet inconvient injury. Dashing backwards, the shoulder cannon starts to hum with that ever familiar sound that Decepticon troops are fond of. Only this isn't the Galvcannon, it's the Impcannon! Of smaller stature, it still fires a devastating blast of super heated pink plasma. Well, the color is debatable, but it's effects aren't. "Nice move. But I've got more tricks up my sleeves than mere punches." The light at the tip of the barrel glows and releases a shot, barreling towards Harrow.
Combat: Impactor misses Harrow with his Impcannon! attack!
Hinder flinches at the cannonshot, but sees that Harrow didn't get directly hit by it.
Of COURSE fighting is suppose to be fun... Especially to those that have 'WAR' in their name. Warsong, who absolutely loves all things related to combat smiles broadly when Harrow manages to strike Impactor with her blade. "Ahhh... So you aren't useless. Good!" he calls out with a laugh before nodding to the Seeker. In all honesty, Warsong is very much aware that Impactor is a bit more than a handful for most Decepticons, but...she did annoy his Warlord, and whether she's aware of it or not this is just another part of the punishment. "It looks like you're learning quickly on your feet, Medic!" Warsong shouts as the Impcannon goes wide.
Harrow yelps and ducks that cannon blast, staggering back warily. "Can someone /assist/ me, please! Sunder!" she yells at the Sweep before exchanging her scalpel with a pistol. Warsong's praise goes unheard, or at least, it seems that way as she fires off a frigid beam.
Combat: Harrow strikes Impactor with her Ice Pistol attack!
Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Impactor's Agility. (Crippled)
Sunder ooohs as Harrow actually starts hitting. He is still anxious to attack, and when Harrow makes her plea, he receives permission to attack Impactor and warms up his headcannon. It glows a bright purple and then discharges.
Combat: Sunder strikes Impactor with his Headcannon Blast attack!
The attack hits, sending an icing blast sending a shudder through the Wrecker. Another blast from behind him, this time from the Sweep. He thought Warsong /might/ play fair until he beat up the Medic. Guess not. He stumbles backwards, then transforms into his dreaded DrillTank mode and charges straight for Harrow. <<Damn, must suck when your leader doesn't have any faith in ya chap?>> The drill bit spins as it approaches the Seeker, as if it can't wait to shred into some Decepticon metal.
Folding down upon himself, Impactor transforms back into his Drill Tank mode.
Combat: Drill_Tank <Impactor> misses Harrow with his You Know The Drill attack!
Hinder just now FINALLY realizes something. She briefly turns away from the fight on the bridge to see how far down is BELOW the bridge.
<Autobot> Sergeant Impactor says, "*Static* Come in... *Static* Immedia... *Static* Decept... *Static*"
Warsong chortles softly as Impactor takes a hard hit in the back, and with a wave of his hand, Warsong barks out to Harrow. "Stand down! Sunder is up now... Good teamwork, but it is time for you to observe. SUNDER! For now... You are on your OWN."
Harrow backs away somewhat, glad to let Sunder help out, but unfortunately Impactor doesn't switch targets. A giant drill is headed straight for her, suddenly. With another exclamation, she manages to dodge, and jumps up to hover in the air. Warsong calls her off, and she abides without complaint, moving to mope beside him.
Hinder turns to study Harrow for a good moment, then returns her attention to the fight.
Sunder swats at the Drill-Tank. "HEY! I'm your opponent now!" he growls, trying to draw attention from Harrow. He tries digging his talons right in to the armor of Impactor's Tank mode, while aiming to avoid the deadly drills.
Combat: Sunder strikes Drill_Tank <Impactor> with his talon swope (Punch) attack!
The DrillTank overshoots it's mark, completely drilling the air that Harrow was taking up a moment ago, which makes for a sad Drill. Spinning around, the Wrecker Leader eyes the Sweep and shudders to a stop when he rakes his claws on his topside. Aiming downwards, Impactor drills a quick hole in the ground to catch a momentary break from the action, trying to raise his faction on the commlink.
Combat: Drill_Tank <Impactor> takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]
<Autobot> Sergeant Impactor says, "Decepticons jumped me on Cybertron. Need immediate evac and assistance!"
Warsong chortles softly and nods as he watches Sunder. "See, THAT enthusiasm... That is what elevates mere fighting to glorious victory!" he points out, as he nods to the returning Harrow. "You must feel the THRILL of battle course through you... Be EAGER to fight odds, ALL odds, even when they are not in your favor. The mission is everything, the itself is nirvana..." Then, the Decepticon's attention shifts briefly though his optics remain glued to Impactor and Sunder as the Drill Tank attempts to drill into the bridge.. <<Hinder... It just occurred to me that this Autobot must have been out here for something. See what you can find that could possibly be of interest.>>
Hinder watches Impactor in increasing alarm. He's drilling into a BRIDGE. If the bridge separates, they ALL fall. The Global Pose Tracker marks that Warsong has 'skipped' his action for this round.
Hinder looks up at Warsong in surprise, then starts off in the direction that Impactor came from, giving the epicenter of the fight as wide a berth as she can.
Harrow is normally pretty eager about fighting! But she just got zapped by a giant scorpion, and isn't too happy about being under punishment. All she does is give Warsong a solemn nod, and watches Hinder head off.
Sunder follows Impactor into the tunnel. "Oh no, you're not getting away!" he shouts. It's like a dachsund pursuing a rabbit into a burrow, only Sunder doesn't have short little legs. He tries delivering a kick to the Drill Tank's aft section when he catches up.
Combat: Sunder strikes Drill_Tank <Impactor> with his Kick attack!
Decepticon Shuttle <Astrotrain> drifts down through Cybertron's .... atmosphere? Does this planet even have an atmosphere? Most likely not. No, we'll just call it Cybertron's airspace. The large purple transport craft drifting slowly as it's hovering thrusters let it pull close in a way that no Terran space shuttle could ever match. He heard something about an Autobot getting a beatdown, and suffice it to say he's somewhat curious as to what's going on.
The aft section of the DrillTank does indeed recieve a thrashing, causing the ground underneath him to shake and shudder a bit. It's not exactly stable to drill into a highway, especially one that isn't even completed yet. If this falls through, well the Wrecker leader is screwed. Decepticons can fly, DrillTanks can't.
Impactor risks a transformation and dashes for the exit, shooting a blast behind him towards Sunder ... but more importantly, the fragile ground beneath her. Goodbye Sweep!
The Drill Tank shifts and transforms, revealing the Wrecker leader Impactor!
Combat: Impactor strikes Sunder with his Desperate Ploy! (Laser) attack!
Warsong continues to nod approvingly at Sunder's attack methods, and the Sweep's enthusiastic and persistent style. "Hahaha! Excellent work, Sunder! Continue to drive the point home and make that Wrecker regret his foolishness!" The sound of the shuttle's arrival quickly draws the cammoed mech's attention, and his ruby-red optics came to focus intently on Astrotrain. "Ah, welcome to the party!" he calls to the large alt-moded Con. "You've come just in time to see the Wrecker fall... Harrow, you may return to base for repairs."
Hinder clambers up onto an outcropping of...stuff...in an attempt to figure out why the Wrecker was all the way the heck out here in the first place. She looks around the foreign landscape, finding it to be very odd looking and not at all like the little blue organic planet she first woke up to. This is going to make finding anything that might be considered worthwhile even more difficult to identify.
In a chorus of shifting and spinning parts, Astrotrain's body spins and lifts up into his large robot mode.
Astrotrain transforms and drifts down to land amongst the other Decepticons in the vicinity, casting a glance towards the direction of the 'entertainment'. "Feh, woulda been better iffin it was Springer. I'd have called dibs!" he flexes his right hand a bit, the joints of his fingers and 'knuckles' creaking slightly with the motions. "Ah well."
Harrow stubbornly stays rooted, squaring her jaw, determined to watch this damn drill tank fall. She acknowledges Astrotrain with a small salute. page harrow=Oh, the Harrow leave was to allow Broadside to arrive with Gears and Crosshair to help scare off the Cons. :( You paged Harrow with 'Oh, the Harrow leave was to allow Broadside to arrive with Gears and Crosshair to help scare off the Cons. :(' From afar, Sunder (Sheba) hmmms. Sunder and Gears can't be in the same room...
The Laser blast from Impactor somehow fritzes Sunder's antigravs! He howls as he falls through the bridge right to the bottom. And it's a long waaaaaaaaaaay down...
When Harrow doesn't budge, Warsong cannot help but grin. "Not going anywhere...? Good," he states matter of factly, his expression hardening slightly though that level of amusement that always seems to be with him when something violent is taking place stays with him in spite of it all. When Sunder disappears into Impactor's trap however, Warsong scoffs. "Well... I didn't see THAT coming..." he notes, and then he's smiling even more broadly. "Hah! The best part about combat! SOOOO unpredictable!" he exclaims, clapping his hands together before him.
Hinder startles and looks back toward the fight at Sunder's howl, but can't see him from her 'vantage' point. Her beady little red optics study the others, trying to make sense of the goings on since she was told to 'investigate'.
Impactor trudges up from the hole, mech fluid seeping from almost every nook and cranny, spilling out beneath his footsteps. One foot slips for a second, grinding into the pavement only a moment afterwards. Basically, he looks like hell incarnate. Resisting every system error message for immediate shutdown, the Wrecker Leader moves forward, glaring at Warsong all the while.
"That's all you got? I took on two of ya! Beat one with mah brawn ... and the other?" Impactor sarcastically frowns, pointing a finger to his head. "With mah noggin. So." Standing up and regaining some semblance of composure, Mr. Purple-pants draws his laser pistol from his holster and spins it around once or twice. "What else you got?" He points the weapon at Warsong, firing one single shot.
Combat: Impactor misses Warsong with his Pistol attack!
Astrotrain watches with a rather...detached expression as Sunder plummets to his dooooooom! Or at least to being temporarily incapacitated or somesuch. By now, he has his rifle in hand, though it is balanced to sit on his shoulder, with the barrel pointing towards the sky. "I dunno, I'm all for just smashin em up and leavin the wreck fer the Autobots to sweep up and put back together...so's we can smash em again."
Astrotrain THEN happens to take a half step to one side as Impactor actually take a shot at Warsong in the process. "Hah! Spunky."
Warsong snorts at Impactor when he comes up from the hole he'd drilled into the bridge, and then quickly shifts his body to avoid the shot from the Wrecker's laser pistol. "...Pah! You did not defeat the MEDIC... I called her back. The last thing I remember was that she was finally starting to gain the upper servo!" the Provoker replies with a chortle. "But still... You have proven yourself an EXCELLENT training dummy this cycle, and for that you have my THANKS!" he states as he quickly reaches to his shoulder and swings his tread toward Impactor to 'thank' him the Decepticon way. "I have NO qualms with that, Astrotrain. In fact... That's an EXCELLENT idea!"
Combat: Warsong strikes Impactor with his Tread-Whip attack!
"Yeah it's an excellent idea cause it's mine!" Astrotrain exclaims, still holding that casual posture off to one side as Warsong proceeds to whip out at Impactor. Of course, the triplechanger considers himself naturally a little above the ranks of the common crowd as far as skill, firepower, strength and...let's just face it, good looks go. So he's kind of looking down at this whole situation like it were some amusing little passtime.
Doesn't mean he won't take an excuse to unload his weapon of course. With a heavy *CH-KLAK!* he primes his rifle and lowers it down to point the tip at the Wrecker leader. "Siddown, shaddup and tell Springer I said hi!" He announces as he lets loose with a dull *CRUMP* as his weapon unleashes a shot at Impactor's midriff at close range.
Combat: Astrotrain strikes Impactor with his Ionic Displacer Rifle attack!
Hinder looks around again, but still doesn't see anything to warrant the Wrecker's presence way out here. She finally gives up and clambers back down toward the bridge (graceful is not in her vocabulary) to meet back up with Warsong. Um, problem. Impactor is between her and the other Decepticons.
Like the good training dummy Impactor apparently is, he's riddled by all sorts of return fire for his bravado to challenge two perfectly healthy combatants after dealing with two sub-par ones. His damaged arm takes the brunt of the assault, the Ionic blast from Astrotrain peppering the armor plating enough to make it fall off the hinges. Warsong's treadwhip latches onto his neck and rips him forward, stumbling on shaky feet grasping at his throat.
Hunched over, Impactor does not present a immediate threat to anyone ... hell, a human could probably knock the mech out right now. Vision blurring, he raises a hand to point at Warsong with what's left of his finger. "..Haa.. ha.. yo.. gt.." Amid emergency shutdown warnings, the Wrecker leader mumbles out the last word as he's falling to the ground. "Nothing."
- SLAM* Impactor lays on the ground, sprawled out like a crash-test dummy after a wreck.
In truth, Crosshairs has actually been here for some time. He's made his way up to the roof of a nearby building into a position that overlooks much of the area below. He has chosen his spot meticulously, even though it means that Impactor has had to hold out a little longer. Now, he stares through his gunsight while laying on his chest; finger poised over the trigger.
Lightly flexing his finger, Crosshairs points the weapon almost straight up and fires three quick grenades.
Bloop, bloop, bloop! Then, lowering the angle, he fires off a second burst.
Bloop, bloop, bloop! Then finally, a third burst of three. Bloop, bloop, bloop!
The effect is carefully calculated, so that the last burst fired hits the ground first in a trio of explosions. Boom, boom, boom. Then the other two volleys land, some fifteen seconds apart. It's a page from the 'artilleryman's FAQ' that he wrote, a very long time ago.
The effect is to make the Decepticons believe they are under attack from far more than just one assaliant as the blasts are spaced out. Impactor is going to get caught in the blast radius, but there's nothing else for it. He's going to have to take some pain to save him.
"Go, Kid! Go! Fast as you can! I'll cover you!" He transmits to gears. Hopefully, the Decepticons are given some pause and maybe Gears can get in and drag Impactor out.
Combat: Crosshairs sets his defense level to Fearless.
Combat: Crosshairs strikes Hinder with his Artilleryman's Trick #243 Area attack!
Combat: Crosshairs strikes Astrotrain with his Artilleryman's Trick #243 Area attack!
Combat: Crosshairs strikes Warsong with his Artilleryman's Trick #243 Area attack!
Combat: Crosshairs strikes Impactor with his Friendly Fire attack!
1983 Chevy S-10 <Gears> rushes along, as fast as a P.O.S. 80's small truck can go, to retrieve Impactor and bring him back for repairs. "Oh great," he says, "I finally make it back to Cybertron, and I have to go right back to Earth again after, I bet."
Astrotrain raises his rifle a moment later, smoke curling from the tip as he looks down at the wrecked....wrecker. Clever, ain't it?
"Feh, hardly sportin like this, I usually like em to tussle a bit more before puttin em down." He's about to say more when the area around himself suddenly explodes with artillery shells going off! A large chunk of debris is kicked up from the ground, hitting him straight in the face and sending the triplechanger careening backwards to crash onto his aft on the ground. He's not really all that hurt by it, truth be told...he's a very sturdy mech afterall. Nonetheless it was enough to rattle his senses as he comes back to the here and now, reaching out for where his rifle went flying and scooping it up again, glaring at Warsong at the same time. "And how does -THIS- figure into yer brilliant line of thinking!?" He snarls.
Combat: Astrotrain takes extra time to steady himself. [Pass]
The ripple of explosions washes the small piece of bridge occupied by Impactor and the Decepticons in shrapnel and flames, and Warsong lifts a clawed hand to shield his face from the maelstrom of debris. His body is thrown forward first, and he stumbles directly into another blast that sends him to his rear end. Optics blinking, the mech shakes his head frantically to clear his vision before his ruby-red gaze squints to peer off into the distance, searching for the source of the blasts. "Unngh... Agreed," he hisses as an afterthought to what the other large Con had said moments before the blast, and then rises to his feet. As he's snarled at by his 'comrade', Warsong snarls back and grinds his teeth creating sparks. Then, he replies with a shrug. "We've had our fun. Hinder! Return to base... DECEPTICONS! Return to base... The Wrecker has been wrecked. Our work here is done...until next time of course."
Hinder gets thrown several feet by the explosions, too surprised to even react until she feels her hind end start to slip over the edge of the chasm that the bridge was designed to span. Then she goes straight into full panic mode, fully believing that they're about to be swarmed by no less than a hundred Autobots. With a shriek of abject terror, she scrambles away from the edge and dashes full-tilt toward the only semblance of protection she sees currently -- Warsong.
Impactor's body is shaken by the assault on the Decepticons, then bounced around and peppered with grenade shrapnel as one of the volleys impacts mere inches away from his optics. Sailing through the air back towards Crosshairs and company, it hits the ground and rolls three times before coming to a skidded stop. Shrapnel and heated asphalt are sticking out of every portion of his body, armor missing in entire chunks and frayed wires jutting out of everywhere, dark brown hydraulic fluid seeping out in parts ... whatever mech-fluids are left in the Wrecker Leader's body.
Crosshairs is still laying on his stomach on top of that tower; his cheek resting against the stock of his grenade launcher. He reaches into one of his storage compartments and slots in a new belt. This one is glittering gold and marked 'Specialized Load, #232.' He's muttering to himself as he peers through the scope, following along with Gears' progress. Then he shifts targets; spying Warsong giving orders. He doesn't pull the trigger again . . but someone might notice two bright red dots on Warsong's ass.
Combat: Crosshairs takes extra time to aim his next attack on Warsong.
1983 Chevy S-10 <Gears> makes like a tow truck, and a little grabby-arm appears out of the back of the truck and clasps onto Impactor to drag him away. "C'mon, let's get out of here," he says, "Before the Decepticons start using us for target practice."
<Autobot> Crosshairs says, "Got you covered in my sights, Kid."
<Autobot> Crosshairs says, "Get outta there."
"Retreatin already, eh?" Astrotrain states as he pulls himself to his feet once more, dusting himself off briefly before glaring back at the source of the explosions, or at least the general direction from hence he thinks they came. "Must have went to the Starscream school of leading. Haw haw!" He then pauses as he notices two red dots actually glowing on Warsong's aftplate. "Hey you leader-type, you gonna just take off or check and make sure Sunder's okay? I'd hate to see ya have to explain to Scourge that you lost one of his sweeps!"
Oh yeah, Astrotrain would TOTALLY love to see Warsong get shot in the aft. But he has no intention of being nearby at the time. No sooner has Hinder been dashing towards Warsong than Astrotrain actually reaches down and scoops her up by the scruff, like one would pick up a young puppy....and takes off into the air.
Combat: 1983 Chevy S-10 <Gears> begins retreating, outrunning all pursuit.
Hinder yelps like aforementioned young puppy at being picked up so abruptly and in her panic starts to struggle, not realizing that Astrotrain is trying to help her.
Warsong barks a laugh at Astrotrain's words, and his optics again peer back to the other large mech blazing with challenge. "This is no retreat, Aft-trotrain... If it suited us I am certain that we could take whatever reinforcements are on their way, however..." He shifts and looks down at Hinder as she comes scurrying toward him, and frowns. "We have more important things to do back on Earth," he states before looking up again to peer toward the Autobot rescuer briefly, and then toward the one lopping grenades at them from afar. A clawed finger lifts and points into Crosshair's direction then, and lingers despite the red beams upon his chassis...
After receiving a message from one of the Autobots, Warsong snorts and juts his chin upward slightly before turning to anti-grav home. Up up and away!
"Ha ha, aft-trotrain." The triplechanger responds blankly, still holding the struggling Hinder in one hand as he peers down at Warsong. "Were ya up all night thinkin that one up or do ya have a list? WOULD YOU QUIT SQUIRMIN OR I'LL THROW YA AS BAIT FOR THE AUTOBOTS!?"
The latter half is naturally reserved for Hinder as she's suddenly wheeled around face-to-face with Astrotrain. Or rather body-to-face given her diminutive size, and Astrotrain being one of the bigger Decepticons around. Crosshairs keeps the Decepticons covered until he is certain they are gone, then scrambles back down to join Gears and perform some emergency first aid before dragging Impactor to the closest available repair bay.
Impactor's corpse is drug into a closet ... just wait until they come out of said closet!
============================ Autobot =============================[]
Message: 3/157 Posted Author AAR: Impactor Mon Nov 02 Crosshairs
Crosshairs' face appears. He looks serious. His arms are crossed, and he's covered in carbon scoring from his grenade launcher. He doesn't seem to be damaged though.
"Detected some weak signals calling for help from the Far East section of the New Cybertron Highway. Too far away to understand most of it. Grabbed Gears, the only one I could find, and went to have a look. Found Impactor under attack by no less than six Decepticons who blew him six ways to slag. I managed to pull a trick or two out of my bag and we got him out of there and chased the Decepticons off. He was pretty screwed up. I've performed repairs, but he's going to need a few days of rest after that mauling.
Crosshairs, Out."