The Intergalactic Highway

"If he impersonates Ironclaw again, it's something to consider Banshee considering it hasn't been something we've exactly made knowledge to for the Predacons." Wintersong retorted as she already found the bat to rub her the wrong way and the fact she felt any sense of making such calls. Her optics narrowed though when she seemed be final about the whole thing. It took a lot to hold her tongue even more for the bat's attitude but the touch on her shoulder and sudden gentle move made her glance towards Ironclaw, meeting his gaze for a moment before she stepped aside to allow him to be cuffed, knowing he wasn't happy about the whole thing.

Then again, he wasn't the only stubborn one around there and when things passed Wintersong had a feeling she might get an audio full from the badger. Not like that would be new honestly, Wintersong had lost track of the number of lectures she had from others but it was hard for people wanting for her to "learn her lesson" when it was a hard habit to break. Reluctantly though, she complied as she twisted her swords and placed them on the back of her shoulders once again as Banshee gave them the order to follow, something that made Wintersong growl a bit. "We have more then one surveillance camera as I last recall, look at the others if you must to confirm what I said." She said defiantly but followed nevertheless, beginning to wonder about some bots, Nexus Prime being one and now Banshee was already working to her list of possible suspects as it was.

Was Wintersong acting out of term? Possibly. But she had more often then not proven she didn't always follow orders and this time around she was willing to take the risk of being under suspicion when she knew Ironclaw was innocent, and that wasn't just her feelings talking. None of this began until Nexus Prime came along and the new Predacons had followed shortly after, all of this seemed far too convenient when the Prime seemed to have brought the trouble with him.

((I saw the reply before Star, but I was waiting on OOP's reply before I did anything.))

This should be where the conduit fer the bay runs along, it could be cut at the junction box or along the route. Only problem is.. I'm a bit stout fer crawlin' in those holes. If the line was cut though, I can provide the wire and tools to patch it. Just make sure the breaker is off before ya try patching it, or else whoever is working on it will be fried.

Nexus watched in silence as Landslide went on to explain how to repair the lights in the medical bay, his expression neutral as he patiently waited. Indeed it was annoying that one of the smaller Predacons was crawling around inside the maintenance/ventilation shafts, something he had known could happen ever since Sentinel had alerted him about the Predacon signal a while ago when he was in the CR chamber. Had he not been so busy and constantly under the surveillance of one Maximal or another, he would merely have taken a smaller form and pursued the intruder himself. Although he preferred impersonating someone with a similar size to his own, he was able to shrink himself down by compressing his armor. To some extent he was able to stretch his armor out when changing into larger forms, but unless he had additional metal available for consumption at such a time, his larger forms would leave his armor thinner and thus more vulnerable.

Landslide was done before long and then proceeded to assist the elderly admiral to a repair table located in the hanger. Nexus offered a grateful, if somewhat weary and tired, smile when the beetle helped him sit down and proceeded to work on the superficial wounds still covering Nexus' armor. The shapeshifter didn't mind, really, since the superficial layers Landslide was working on were simply regular armor and the other Maximal made no attempt at cutting deeper. As the tech continued his work, the admiral merely sat still, staring ahead of him. His mind drifted from the intruder in the ducts to whether Rattrap had the supposed traitor incarcerated yet, to his real target that was still laying unconscious on a table. Hopefully Optimus would wake up soon so that he could continue with his plans to make him suffer for what he had done to the changeling. It would be a real tragedy should Optimus perish before he'd been able to manipulate him into finishing the job. For his revenge ran far deeper than merely tricking Primal to kill off his own Maximals, oh no, before the light dimmed in Optimus' optics one final time he would be responsible for the downfall of his precious Maximal council as well.

The little fuzor hurried as she heard familiar voices coming from just outside the bridge. Hopefully they would be able to shed some light on what was going on around here, she thought, just as she rounded the final corner. Upon seeing all of them in a bit of a cluster, her face lit up into a bright smile. They all looked all right, no serious damages that she could see, even if they all seemed a bit.. grim.

"Aurora! Am I glad to see you,"

Aurora's smile widened still upon seeing Rattrap, the rodent who had kept her under his watchful eye and helped shape her more than most. She stepped forward, wanting to rush over there and give him a hug, when her green optics finally registered what he had been in the process of doing. Just in front of him Ironclaw stood with a pair of cuffs on his wrists, his facial expression revealing that he was barely holding back his rage. Aurora's happy expression turned to one of confusion, her eyes darting from Ironclaw in the cuffs to Rattrap.

"You are Aurora, aren't you?"

What did he mean? Who else would she be?? For a moment the fuzor had forgotten all about the shapeshifter business that had been plaguing them.

"Of course I am, Stinkbrain," she protested before repeating her earlier question now that she was here with everyone, "But what are you guys doing? The CR chamber's a mess and.."

A thought occurred to her.

"Where's Optimus?," she then asked, looking around almost frantically.

(ooc: Waiting for Una before I post as Nemesis..)

((OOC: Oh, why not add to the chaos? More chaos is always fun! lol.))

After locking the door to her quarters and removing her COMM link, Saber-Fang sat cross legged on her berth. She wasn't even sure if what she had planned was even going to work, it could only make things worse but she didn't have much of a choice.

Fear based illusion or not, Heavystep had been right, he had been right, she should be in control not the Beast. Perhaps meditating and communioning in some way with it, they could possibily come to an agreement of some kind. Softly clearing her throat, she took a calming breath before closing her eyes and began to meditate. Within minutes, she could sense it's presence, no doubt the creature could sense her as well.

Her spark skipped abeat when a pair of glowing neon green appeared from out of the darkness, it's eyes narrowed when it felt her fear and doubt. The creature growled and prowled out of the darkness as it approached her, taking clear advantage of her fear and doubt.

She realized too late that this had been a bad idea, she let out a cry of shock and fear as it leaped at her with a roar. Said roar soon echoed through out the Axalon.

NaitoKage wrote:Aye, I'll see what I can do,could be simply a problem with the breaker, but if it's a wire that's been cut.. the Maintance shaft is likely where a problem would be.. Hang on..

NaitoKage wrote:This should be where the conduit fer the bay runs along, it could be cut at the junction box or along the route. Only problem is.. I'm a bit stout fer crawlin' in those holes. If the line was cut though, I can provide the wire and tools to patch it. Just make sure the breaker is off before ya try patching it, or else whoever is working on it will be fried.

"I'm too large as well. Some one like Rattrap, Feral, Aurora or... Cheetor's coming this way. He might be able to fit. But right now, he is coming to the hangar bay to help me in catching this intruder." The Predacon might not have time to any damage that was too extensive. If she was in the Predacon's shoes, she would have done anything to just provide a distraction. Even for a split second. Anything could happen in a split second.

Cheetor came inside and she smiled at him.

NaitoKage wrote:All clear.. I'll check the maintenance shaft, keep a lookout Whitegrazer.

She nodded at the young feline, wondering where the Predacon went. He or she was heading into the hangar bay, but they must have changed course inbetween shafts. She kept an optic out when her thoughts rushed to the shapeshifter as Landslide and Nexus entered. She hoped they would be able to take care of this situation swiftly before the shapeshifter decided to take advantage of the situation. She knew Ironclaw was innocent, and it pained her he probably was in the brig now, but it was the only way to show his innocence. She knew Nemesis was probably anger at her for stepping in, but she knew if Nemesis killed Ironclaw, the Maximals would kick her out and she would look like a fool. She didn't want that to happen.

"Cheetor," she asked through the shaft, "any idea where the Predacon went?" She didn't hear anything and contacted Rhinox on her com-link to make sure, "Rhinox, everything still okay there?"

It was then she heard the roar echoing across the Axalon.

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Blackarachnia was messing with the holocron on Whitegrazer's desk when Nemesis entered, "So how has your stay been with the Maximals?" She knew of Nemesis' situation, of being kicked and ran out of the Predacons because of the camera feed of her leaving the Axalon. But she had a sneaking suspicion that was Megatron's new buddy, that shapeshifter masquerading as the old Maximal admiral. It was obvious. Why would a former Decepticon-turned Predacon help the Maximals or be an agent for them? Nemesis and she might not be that best of friends, but she has seen and heard many of the things Nemesis has done to the MAximals. It made smile, but almost want to laugh pathetically at how the Maximals took her in so easily? Of course, they probably are trying to convert or make her feel bad with how she is, "I can't imagine how much you have to endure from these..." she was taking a peek at the Maximal horse's line of books, which all of their subjects were too boring for her, "goody-two shoes. Must drive you mad."

She heard the roar just like everyone else. Her instincts perked, telling her to move this along.

"I make this quick since I know those pesky Maximals are trying to sniff me out," she smiled at Nemesis, "I know those Maximals have a cure for the virus that has plagued our side. If you give me that cure, I will tell Megatron of what you did. No Predacon or former Decepticon should have to suffer any more time underneath Maximals."

Despite the fact there was some truth to her offer, she did this for another reason. Nemesis was a volatile yet skillful ally to have. Images of Nemesis tearing Tarantulas apart was almost therapy to her. She tried to hide images from Tarantulas. Hopefully, he didn't, and if he did, she didn't care.

(Random question Night hunter, do Saberfang's fangs become smaller during the transformation? )

Whitegrazer wrote:"I'm too large as well. Some one like Rattrap, Feral, Aurora or... Cheetor's coming this way. He might be able to fit. But right now, he is coming to the hangar bay to help me in catching this intruder."

Whitegrazer wrote:"Cheetor," "any idea where the Predacon went?"

Cheetor crawled back out of the vent looking towards Whitegrazer No.. The maintenance shafts are like a maze that lead to any floor on the ship. But what I do know is it smells like Spiders have been in there.. Not sure which one though.

Landslide had made halfway through the repairs on Nexus, when the group had heard the roar echoing through the Axalon. For most the Maximals, the thought of the beast was terrifying. With the exception of Landslide, who seemed more annoyed. Between the holes and dents Ironclaw put into the ship, the damage to Rattrap's room, the incomplete repairs on Nexus and Optimus,the damage to the CR chamber, and the Shapeshifter running around.. His irritation was starting to slowly boil over. The last thing he needed was Saber wrecking the ship even more.

The beetle made a audible sigh as he stood up unhooking a ground clamp from Nexus,he pulled out a crimping tool set and some wire, tossing it to Cheetor. Cheetor, head down and check the breaker, if nothing is wrong, be careful but look fer any damage in the maintenance shaft.

Landslide then picked up a portable mig welder from his work bench tossing it to Whitegrazer Finish up Nexus's welds while I'm gone. All ya have to do is connect the wire hanging on the bottom to his frame, pull the trigger and the wire will spark an arc and squirt out like a squirt gun.Try to get it between the gap in the plates.

Cheetor looked at the tools, then looked at Landslide Uh,okay.. But what are you going to do?

Landslide picked up his shield attaching it to his back Saber needs her medicine.. He then walked away into the hall, his battle mask sliding up over his mouth. He activated his comlink sending a message to Rattrap Rattrap, I'm heading over to deal with the Beast. Cheetor should be able to get the medical bay back online soon, but he says he smells a Spider in the shaft somewhere.

Landslide then stopped in front of Saberfang's room door, pulling out one of the tranquilizer round with his left hand, he then opened the door slowly with his right hand, looking into the room.


Meanwhile, Cheetor headed off to the engine room.

_____________________________

Slowly making his way up the Waterfall, Umbra reached the top to the rivers edge, he moved towards some drift wood at the shore as covers, raising his stalk like eyes as he started to observe the security around the Axalon, in an attempt to try to get into the ship without being detected. The Exterior seemed well armed as he remembered, but the exterior holes had all been patched up. He'd have to sneak past the Cameras and attempt to get to one of the entrances..

The Bridge was far too dangerous to attempt from above or bellow, but he didn't know enough on the hanger or port hatches. As he looked over the ship, he noticed the exhaust for the garbage shoot. If he could get by the autoguns and Cameras to the garbage shoot, he could probably get in without much notice. He then started to examine the cameras, their direction and estimated their view, assuming they probably had a 120 degree view for the lens. He started to imagine a cone like projection from the Camera's lens, planning out his route from these estimates.

(The Garbage shoot is the thing Terrorsaur was shoved into and shot out of the Axalon by Dinobot from the teleporter episode.)

Wintersong wrote: Though it seemed that would be slowed down as Inferno had come to the edge of his patience, causing the spinosaurus to turn from the commotion but inwardly was a bit amused of how easily Inferno handled the spider. Maybe any other time she'd entertain the thought of letting the ant burn the spider to a crisp if he was allowed but at the moment they couldn't afford to lose the sneaky spider, his expertise being necessary in the creation of a cure despite how much he probably would just let the rest of them suffer into becoming nothing. "Sub Commander Inferno, I understand your restlessness for our Royalty, but the cure is not that simple. Put Tarantulas down so us drones can do what is necessary to get Lord Megatron back on his feet which unfortunately requires the spider and his knowledge in this area." Spineback said calmly, hoping the small bit of what she knew of Inferno and his mannerisms would help help.

Though her attention soon went back to Megatron and his outburst of a laugh, making her raise an optic ridge in wondering what he could possibly be hallucinating about at a time like this. Probably whatever he had had her looking out for earlier probably played such a part in that role, but she could quickly see his condition was just getting worse at this rate, anyone could see that. "Inferno last time I'll say it, put the spider down so we can get some progress." 'If that's possible.' Spineback added to herself, knowing her own state of mind was barely holding on and she would end up in a similar state as Megatron soon enough.

Inferno paused at Spineback's words, surprised that there was anyone else amongst the predacon ranks who respected the chain of command enough to call him by his formal title within the Colony's Hierarchy! Usually only the Royalty called him by his proper rank...This was most irregular...But welcome!

"Hhhmmm...Very well drone, but pick up the pace! The Colony cannot make do without its Queen! The Royalty must be restored to his rightful self sooner, not later" the ant declared without a hint of doubt in his fanatical voice, dropping Tarantulas to the ground at last, the spider dizzy and slow to get to his feet after having been shaken so violently.

"...Wheeze...Someday...You won't know when...Wheeze...You WILL pay for that bug!" Tarantulas promised between gasps of breath as he returned to his work, resisting the urge to shoot Inferno in the back for his brutish behavior.

Tarantulas raised an optic ridge at the data he had onscreen before him, the analysis of the virus was finally complete! And while that should have been good news, it was also laced with harsh reality as well.

"The computer has finished analyzing the virus" Tarantulas announced to everyone present, not really caring if they were paying attention to his hard work or not, adding "For what good its worth."

Meanwhile, Megatron's laughter finally died down, the transmetal tyrant calming down as he said "I sorely needed that, I've had little reason to feel mirth of any kind as of late, not since these fools botched up my plans today."

"Intelligent conversation is sadly difficult to find at times" Decepticon Megatron replied sagely, taking a seat himself.

"So true! Yyyyesssss!" Megatron replied, pleased to have met someone who truly understood his burden and knew where he was coming from, another Megatron no less!

"Hhhmmm, speaking of fools, your underlings appear to be onto to something" Decepticon Megatron replied with only mild interest.

"Hah! That'll be the day, those idiots...Wait, what?!" Predacon Megatron replied, coming to his senses finally as he realized what his progenitor meant....Could his crew have finally developed a cure?!

"Spit it out spider! I tire of waiting!" Megatron shouted, startling everyone in the room present with his sudden return to reality.

"Royalty! You've returned to us!" Inferno exclaimed with manic glee, delighted by his master's unexpected but welcome return to lucid thought.

"Indeed Sub-Commander, now out with it Tarantulas, what are your findings?" Megatron replied impatiently, uncertain how long his lucidity would last, wondering how long he'd been spacing out from his delusions.

"Patience Mighty Megatron, I want a second opinion first before I present my findings, care to have a look, Doctor?" Tarantulas said, motioning at Spineback to come forward to see for herself the situation they faced.

"So how has your stay been with the Maximals?"

Nemesis' optics fixed on the smaller female, her arms crossing as the other one spoke. She didn't respond immediately, though, as the answer to BlackArachnia's question should have been obvious. And since the other female had obviously snuck into the Axalon and was more than likely responsible for the blackout in the lab, it wouldn't be long before her presence here was noticed. It was true that Nemesis hadn't exactly interacted much with the spiders, but she was still interested to hear what the other female had to say. The avian female already knew about the virus infection spreading like wildfire through the Predacon base from what Umbra had given in his report earlier, so she was more than a little suspicious that was the reason the spider was here as well.

"I can't imagine how much you have to endure from these..." "goody-two shoes. Must drive you mad."

Tilting her head a bit at the black widow's continued attempts to woe her over with words, Nemesis merely nodded in agreement. "It has been a rather touchy situation," she confirmed, pausing as a rather frightening roar echoed through the base. It was loud enough to be heard clearly even through these insulated walls. The avian female couldn't help feeling as if she had heard the roar before, even if she couldn't quite place it.

"I make this quick since I know those pesky Maximals are trying to sniff me out," she smiled at Nemesis, "I know those Maximals have a cure for the virus that has plagued our side. If you give me that cure, I will tell Megatron of what you did. No Predacon or former Decepticon should have to suffer any more time underneath Maximals."

That same mischievous smile spread on her face as BlackArachnia finally confirmed what she had suspected all along, that the spider was here to find the means to defeat this virus that was plaguing them. Getting the cure shouldn't be difficult at all, given the fact Nemesis had been present while the pint sized Maximal fuzor had been working on it. In fact her own technology had been part of the process.

"Yes.. I'm sure your motives are based purely on noble intentions and the desire to keep our kind safe..," Nemesis responded after a brief pause, holding back the chuckle that was threatening to erupt. BlackArachnia wasn't exactly known to be the most loyal of them and she certainly wasn't someone Nemesis would trust now that her life was at stake. If the female spider wanted a chance to get the cure for herself, she'd have to give Nemesis something more reassuring than that, a fact mirrored in the look she sent the other female.

She knew the other female was sneaky, so much so in fact that she had been walking a thin line with both Megatron and Tarantulas in the past. Nemesis didn't know exactly what that was all about, but perhaps the other female would be interested in sharing the information.. for the sake of a partnership.

Meanwhile Nexus waited patiently while Landslide continued his repairs until the large beetle was pulled away by other projects. As he started walking away, Nexus was interrupted by a report from Sentinel.

"Predacon presence in the Axalon confirmed. The unit identified as Blackarachnia is presently in unit Whitegrazer's quarters with unit Nemesis," Sentinel informed the admiral on a private channel. Maintaining his poker face, Nexus glanced over at where Landslide was leaving the room, overhearing him tell Whitegrazer to finish the repairs. Even though his outside appearance remained neutral, on the inside he was more than a little annoyed by this Predacon's presence. There could be only one reason this one was sneaking around inside the Axalon's ventilation shafts and that was to try to find a way to rid the Predacons of the virus his own underling had released upon them. Something he obviously could not allow. The virus should be getting close to the next phase of the cycle by now, where the infection would progress from inflicting nightmares to causing so much chaos in their minds their operating systems would overload and they would be left as nothing but helpless drones.

So the little spider wanted to play then.. Very well..


"Activate the auto-guns. Destroy unit BlackArachnia," the admiral informed Sentinel on their secure channel
.

"Acknowledged," came the blunt response as Sentinel started the process of locking down the base and raising the alarms.

"Warning. Predacon signature detected within base. Defense protocols have been activated. All Maximal personnel to evacuate to secure locations immediately," the warning system sounded through the speaker system immediately after. Blinking lights in all the public areas and corridors also activated to reinforce the notion that Maximals needed to seek shelter in designated safe areas.

As all the commotion started, Nexus' expression turned to one of confusion as he looked around before standing up. "It would seem the remaining repairs will have to wait for a moment," he muttered, almost sounding a bit disappointed.

(( OOC: Thanks for the clarification, NK. I thought it better to give Sentinel's control over to Phoenix since Nexus has influence over it anyway. ))

"We have more then one surveillance camera as I last recall, look at the others if you must to confirm what I said."

"Yeah, but not every corner an' corridor is covered," Rattrap mentioned to Wintersong, not that he wouldn't look at other footage once he had the opportunity... which wasn't coming any time soon. They had lost many cameras over their duration of being stranded on this planet with all of the Predacon attacks and shortages that fried equipment; they could only continue replacing so many after all.

"Of course I am, Stinkbrain," "But what are you guys doing? The CR chamber's a mess and.."

Well, it sounded like Aurora - which made the rat smile ever so slightly given the situation - and smelled like her, but because of all the shapeshifting brew-ha-ha around there, he could't be 100% sure. His current suspects, however, were Ironclaw and Nexus. Of course, Aurora had been used before for the shapeshifter's disguise, trying to use her against Optimus at the Darksyde. You know who else was there, though? Nexus. Whoever it was was a little too good at playing this game. It made Rattrap both envious of his abilities and irritated that he had to handle all of the after affects.

"Where's Optimus?,"

The young Fuzor's question made Rattrap hesitate to answer. Not just because of the monkey's current condition but because he was incredibly vulnerable and if this wasn't really Aurora, - despite her seemingly authentic desperation and concern to find him - then he might be sending the shapeshifter to finish their leader off. "He's..." he paused with his voice trailing a little to think of safer words to use for both Rhinox and Primal's sake, "...with Rhinox." He had a feeling that wouldn't satisfy her and she'd assume he was hiding something. Just then, a familiar roar echoed throughout the base. "Uh oh," Rattrap gulped knowing the fearful sound emerged from the Beast. Could it possibly get any worse? He was so close to giving up on this day.

Rattrap, I'm heading over to deal with the Beast. Cheetor should be able to get the medical bay back online soon, but he says he smells a Spider in the shaft somewhere.

Finally, someone was giving him an update! "Be careful, Landslide," Rattrap warned him. Landslide had little experience with Saber-Fang and even less with the Beast. Fortunately, the beetle had the armor that could block him from any of her mauling. He couldn't believe they were still dealing with this obstacle but it was Saber's fault for never coming forward with the real issue of her past, whatever that might be. They couldn't help her with what they didn't know about her. At any rate, he was glad for some relief over the circumstances since Landslide willingly volunteered to handle the General. As for Cheetor, he hoped he would be cautious as well. The cat's track record with the spiders was not... impressive. And, of course, the alarms and the lights...

"Warning. Predacon signature detected within base. Defense protocols have been activated. All Maximal personnel to evacuate to secure locations immediately,"

"Jee... thanks, Sentinel," the rodent said sarcastically. "What took ya so long?" he asked rhetorically, wondering what really had delayed the computer from informing them of said intruder.

"Rhinox, Cheetor smells a spider," Rattrap added for the rhino's benefit. Now, if Landslide was going to help Saber, did that leave Nexus alone? And where had Nemesis gone off to? Well, this was precisely why he had slapped that fancy anklet on her. Turning around, he typed in a few commands and her current location popped up on a monitor. What the heck was she doing in the horse's room? "Be advised," he communicated through his comm. link to Whitegrazer, Cheetor and Rhinox, "Nemesis' current location's in Whitegrazer's quarters, along with Blackarachnia who may er may not be contagious." Were they scheming? His bright red optics glared at the screen flashing both of their signatures thanks to Sentinel. Fortunately for Nemesis, her signature had been programmed in the computer to not be a threat, but Rattrap's fingers twitched on the verge of changing that with a simple command code. He couldn't imagine having two Preds like those two snooping around in someone's quarters. Knowing Whitegrazer, she probably couldn't care less. If anyone came into the rat's "nest", they'd surely get lost in the junk laying about like a labyrinth or suffocate in the stench that everyone claimed his quarters harbored.

Meanwhile, in the medical bay, with all of this commotion going on, Rhinox had had enough of being delayed. "Understood, Rattrap," he responded. Primal's condition was starting to regress and that worried the engineer.

"Rhinox, everything still okay there?"

"Still quiet but Optimus is starting to slip. I'm going to do what I can but the sooner Blackarachnia is taken care of and the sooner I have power, it will make things a lot easier," he urged Whitegrazer. Since Blackarachnia had been located, he put his large gun back into his subspace and in the darkness he grabbed some battery-powered backup lighting that he set up around the table where Optimus laid upon. Illuminating his work space and the Maximal Commander's body, it would have to do, and so he then grabbed the flask with the antidote that Aurora miraculously created and secured it in his subspace as well. Hopefully, if anyone came looking for it, they would waste their time searching the entire infirmary and inevitably be caught and taken prisoner or chased out of the base. Now that Blackarachnia had been identified and located, he was certain it was her who was lurking and might have seen what she was searching for, quite possibly the cure for the virus that the Predacons were now plagued with just like the Maximals had been. Although, would the Predacons have known that? And if they did, what made them think they had a cure or that they weren't still infected? It's too bad they had to be sneaky about it instead of simply knocking on the front door and asking for it like a courteous neighbor would do. Rhinox doubted that Tarantulas couldn't make his own antidote, so why risk sending a Predacon to steal one that their enemy might have successfully made? And would that Predacon really come alone? He didn't think so. In a way, it was a compliment that they sought the Maximals for a solution. But Rhinox knew Aurora was gifted; he didn't need the Predcrooks to prove that.

With the cure safe and out of sight, even from Nemesis who wouldn't know where it was now, the robust Maximal grabbed a small, portable generator that would provide enough electricity to give Rhinox his friend's vitals on the monitor and he hooked it up and observed how some readings were dropping slowly. Determined to get as much as done as he could, he went back to work on attaching Primal's new hands that Landslide had manufactured. He leaned in closer with the lack of light he had and worked as diligently as he could with the alarms sound, the Beast's roar bouncing off of the walls, and the knowledge of a Predacon intruder in their midst as well as the shapeshifter. Despite the repairs the rhinoceros had made so far on the ape's legs, feet and hand replacements, his head was still nearly unrecognizable with his busted and crooked teeth, the gash on his swollen lips, his broken and damaged optic sensors and the dents and scratches that blanketed his head. The armor on his chest and arms was still crimped from the energy bonds they had tortured him with and a lot of it had fallen off along with his paint with the stress and pressure. Rhinox simply wouldn't be able to fix everything but that's why they had CR chambers.

((OOC: Smaller and sharper, but no less deadly.))

Saber's quarters were trashed, what little she had was scattered and broken, the berth was nearly shredded and the lightly was out leaving the room in semi darkness. There was a deep slash gouged deeply into the wall, made by a powerful set of claws.

A pair of glowing neon green eyes locked on Landslide, they narrowed to slits just as a growl rose from it's throat. A second later, it let a snarl before launching itself at the massive bug with every intent of ripping him apart.

(Nighthunter:Okay, just checking since if Saber had the normal Sabertooth style fangs, even with unhinging her jaw like a snake she probably couldn't bite Landslide without the teeth interfering. But smaller fangs she can. Also smaller fangs do work rather well, Jaguars are known for having the strongest bite out of any of the cats, capable of piercing even the skull of a Crocodile.

OOP: Okay, no problem!)

As Saberfang snarls and launches herself at Landslide, he simply stands unflinching, allowing her to bite on the protruding armor of his chest, with a loud clang heard from the sudden impact, but with the surprise that he didn't fall over, his heavy armor pierced by the bite. Landslide brought up his right arm grabbing Saberfang by the back of the head while compressing on her back with his forearm to pin her to his body, forcing Saberfang's head against his chest but making sure she didn't impale herself from any of the natural spikes on his body, many of which his beast mode in the wild would of used to impale, scratch, or amputate limbs of arthropods foolish enough to face them.

He glanced down at the angry beast as his visor slits glowed revealing four narrowed blue optics,unlike most encountering the beast Landslide showed no sense of fear, if anything his gaze was just as intimidating. He tapped the button on the tranquilizer round in his left hand having it extend it's needle, then drove it into the side of Saberfang's neck.

He pulled the tranquilizer out after a moment dropping it to the floor, then pulled out another having the needle extend and drove it into Saber's neck again. Hearing the sirens and announcement from Sentinel, Landslide turned sideways and walked into Saber's room with her still attached/pinned to himself.

_______________________________________

Cheetor made his way down to the engine room, he looked up as he heard the sound of the sirens and Sentinel make an announcement. Cheetor assumed the engine room would probably be safe, he then started to examine the breaker box, flipping off the switch to the medical bay. He made his way to the maintenance shaft pulling the cover off and climbing inside, then closed it behind himself. I don't have time for this.. Rhinox and Optimus are depending on this! Cheetor said to himself, crawling through the shaft with one of his arms up ready to shoot anything that moved.

(ooc: And yet again we are waiting for a select few.. :p )

"He's.."

Aurora's ears perked up and her eyes shot open as Rattrap seemed hesitant to tell her, immediately making her fear the worst. Had Optimus died while she was being repaired? Had something else happened..?

"..with Rhinox."

That didn't exactly answer her question. Well in a sense she supposed it did, but what she really wanted to know was what his condition had been. But if Rhinox was with him, at least she knew he was in capable hands. Or as capable as they got around here, at least, given the fact that the position as their chief medical officer had somehow been thrust upon Rhinox. She was pretty sure this is not what the engineer had originally signed up for, but he was very capable at it regardless. Perhaps if she could assist as well, Optimus could be healed up a little bit faster. She assumed he was still in poor condition given Rattrap's hesitancy.

Her optics darted over to the computer monitor in the background, which briefly appeared to show the schematics of.. Nexus Prime..? The image then changed to show the presence of the intruder's signal.. in Whitegrazer's room? And then Sentinel's warning patched through, telling everyone to evacuate.

What was going on here?!

"Jee... thanks, Sentinel," the rodent said sarcastically. "What took ya so long?"

Sentinel did not respond to the rodent's rather sarcastic remark, instead it just repeated the previous warning.

Being pressed against Landslide's chest, the Beast sank it's teeth into his shoulder and bit down hard in an attempt to crush his shoulder while it's claws dug into him, snarling all the way.

He glanced down at the angry beast as his visor slits glowed revealing four narrowed blue optics,unlike most encountering the beast Landslide showed no sense of fear, if anything his gaze was just as intimidating. He tapped the button on the tranquilizer round in his left hand having it extend it's needle, then drove it into the side of Saberfang's neck.

The first shot only served to anger the beast, it gave up on trying to tear off his arm and went for his face. The beast's fangs were inches away from his visor but it could reach his face.

He pulled the tranquilizer out after a moment dropping it to the floor, then pulled out another having the needle extend and drove it into Saber's neck again.

The second shot took greater effect then the first one did, the beast's struggles started to weaken and the rage slowly left the neon green eyes. Within several minutes the beast went limp in Landslides arms.

((OOC: I would have had this done sooner, but for most of the day, I was ill. Yuck! ))

Phoenix wrote:It has been a rather touchy situation,"

Blackarachnia smirked, "I'll bet."

"Yes.. I'm sure your motives are based purely on noble intentions and the desire to keep our kind safe..,"

"Aren't yours," Blackarachnia asked, still smirking. So Nemesis needed a little more convincing? She would have been suspicious if Nemesis took this right off the bat anyway. Though, she had to think of something quick or the Maximals were going to make sure she never leaves with the cure or at all. She could hear the hum and whizzing outside the room, the activation of the autoguns and clashing footsteps. She was irritated, yes, but part of her enjoyed the fact that she could cause such a fuss. She would have been insulted if they did nothing. She was flattered.

"All right, I guess you are not as eager to leave as I thought you were," she stepped back. She stared at the small bookshelf where a small cache laid next to it. She gave her attention back to Nemesis, used her foot to open the cache, and gave a quick glance at little chips. From what she read back on Cybertron and the tint of them, they seemed to be fighting vids. Some even had the Predacon symbols on them. She chuckled, "I have seen you with the Maximal white horse. Did she get to you?"

She crossed her arms, "You wouldn't like it if I leave this room, Nemesis." She shook her head, "If you don't help me, I will just have to fight for the cure from whoever Megatron sent. And if I do that, I will bring it to Megatron and I would make sure to tell Megatron about what I saw here, that the recording was right and that you are working with the Maximals now. And you will never be able to return to our side again."

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________

NaitoKage wrote:No.. The maintenance shafts are like a maze that lead to any floor on the ship. But what I do know is it smells like Spiders have been in there.. Not sure which one though.

Spider? She wondered which one, but it would make sense that they would send a spider. Though, Megatron and the rest of the Predacons must have been desperate to get the cure. She was actually surprised that they would send a spider, especially Megatron.

NaitoKage wrote:Finish up Nexus's welds while I'm gone. All ya have to do is connect the wire hanging on the bottom to his frame, pull the trigger and the wire will spark an arc and squirt out like a squirt gun.Try to get it between the gap in the plates.

"Will do," she nodded, catching the welder with ease. But before Landslide could leave to help Saber, Whitegrazer placed a hand gently on the Maximal beetle's shoulder. She sensed his wariness of what was going on and it was getting to him. She understood that well. So much was happening in so little time that it was hard to keep up sometimes. But they would all be able to handle this together as a team... as a unit. "One step at a time, Landslide. One step at a time."

Optimal Optimus Primal wrote:"Still quiet but Optimus is starting to slip. I'm going to do what I can but the sooner Blackarachnia is taken care of and the sooner I have power, it will make things a lot easier,"

Whitegrazer closed her optics and took a breath. They could do this, "Cheetor is working on the power now. It should be back on momentarily, Rhinox. Do the best you can."

She looked at Nexus and started on his repairs. Some part of her wanted to refuse. There was a part of her... a part she buried deep within her that whispered the same words TyCross kept telling her to do. As she pulled the trigger of the welder, she could hear the shots of her previous life, of a previous person who reacted almost instinctively. Chaotic. A person who was in so much pain. I must-No, I can't. I can't. She pulled the trigger a few times more. I know it is him. No, there is doubt. The only way she could have proof is the nanos. And that was postponed because of the trauma she experienced from Optimus. So much pain he had to endure. She would do what she must to try and erase those wounds. Weakness, Whitegrazer, weakness. Do it now. Do it before someone who hasn't done the act of killing. Would you really want to see someone like Aurora do it? Or Optimus? Shouldn't it be from the hands which are already stained in energon? Someone like Nemesis or yourself? She stopped for a second. No, she didn't want that for them. Do you want to cause yourself more pain? She then started working again. Have you forgotten, TyCross? I'm already in pain. I'm always in pain.

Phoenix wrote:"Warning. Predacon signature detected within base. Defense protocols have been activated. All Maximal personnel to evacuate to secure locations immediately,"

Phoenix wrote:"It would seem the remaining repairs will have to wait for a moment,"

She listened to the Sentinel's voice over and over again. She thought to herself what should she do. It was then she turned her thoughts to Nemesis. She looked behind herself They are in my room She didn't mind Nemesis being in her quarters, but something told her to wait. It was then she got the message from Rattrap.

"Be advised," he communicated through his comm. link to Whitegrazer, Cheetor and Rhinox, "Nemesis' current location's in Whitegrazer's quarters, along with Blackarachnia who may er may not be contagious."

She knew her train of thought wasn't going to be favored by her friends. But this was Nemesis' choice. Whitegrazer wanted to see how this went, but she also wanted to make sure there was no violence. She looked at what she did with Nexus. Overall, the Admiral's repairs were nearly completely, "They are almost complete." She helped Nexus up and softly said, "Come on, I will take you to a secure location, and I will finish your repairs there."

((Sorry for the delay!! I had a stressful final week of school this past week leaving me too tired and drained to post. But I will add to this post once I get on my laptop and catch up with posts since my last one. Again sorry guys!!))

Seeing Inferno responded to what she said, Spineback sighed in relief despite his demands still wanting rushed results. Well, she could give some credit that her words had worked and now Tarantulas wouldn't have to deal with the ant for a little while longer, not until the results came back. Quite frankly, she also wondered what would come as the results at all, having a bad feeling that it was not going to be what they wanted and the fact what Tarantulas said next made her perk up. Finally! Out of habit she stepped forward to come take a look for herself, wanting to see if there truly was anything she could do besides keep an optic on Megatron's condition...and her own.

BUt she paused as she heard Megatron suddenly speak, relief washing over her that it seemed there was still some strength of will left in their leader after all. But it no doubt would be rather temporary, her own mind barely hanging onto that small thread of will that was keeping her from falling into the delusions of the virus that had infected her systems. "I'm fixing to look at them now sir." Spineback confirmed as she finally turned back to the monitor to look over the results, but she quickly noticed something was off, making her give a quick glance at Tarantulas then back at the screen, her optic ridge furrowing slightly as this was not exactly a good thing as there seemed something abnormal. But in speaking of abnormal...

...She was once again back in her days as a low ranked soldier, standing in formation of many others around her as they were awaiting further orders. Her unit commander stood with a few others, all optics on a monitor as Megatron, the original that is, spoke of a new attack plan which was meant to attack a city filled with Autobot sympathizers and Autobot forces. It would be her first major battle, her first real taste of striking down petty Autobots and their peaceful ways of which Sandback had long since abandoned in those days. Though, she could begin to feel herself becoming restless with anticipation, her grip tightening instinctively around a blaster at her side that wasn't really there...

Spineback snapped back to reality, but this time it was brief as she fell between the present and the past, her Decepticon self and current Predacon one. She was losing her grip and growled softly as she rested a hand on her head. She had to give her opinion now, "Its a possible chance to make one of our own sir, but if I am reading this correctly there seems to be another hiccup in this process. But my help stops there..." She said, trailing off towards the end as she had to turn away to lessen the chance she might accidently fire her weapon in her state of mind. And already she fell back into it....

...At last the order was given to move out, and the moment Megatron's face flickered off the screen she saw her commander raise his hand and motion them to begin their march. Excitement gripped her spark as she began to follow in formation, occasionally trying to sneak a peek around someone in front of her and growing inpatient as the pace seemed far too slow for her liking and visibly many others. They were ready to slaughter and kill, to rid of another part of the Autobots and drive them to extinction upon Cybertron.

Not even a few miles away from their intended target and Sandback was already activating her Plasma Sphere Shooter on her arm...

...In reality she once again transformed part of her arm into her weapon, this time the device humming as it was slowly activated and Spineback staring blankly ahead with visible intent of death within her optics. She had finally lost her touch with reality.

((Also waiting on Mystrea and Star before I can post with Wintersong. Unless I should move that part along?))

Aurora still seemed to believe in Optimus even when he was in the state he is in. That was loyalty, however misplaced. Though maybe it was a good thing that she was not getting involved with the badger's current predicament. She was assumed to be the innocent one of the team and strangely many members based their actions on how it would affect her, he feared it was too late for that and changes needed to be made to secure their survival and victory on this planet.
Ironclaw was not impressed by the bat's false sense of authority. She proved herself only rash when gunning after Nexus then suddenly after himself. For a doctor or psychologist she seemed quite convoluted. When this was resolved he would make some time to ensure she had some structure, she obviously had the ability just needed the direction. Though his own control was in question when he looked down at his bonds and wondered just how easily he could break out of them. He thought like a criminal, the very thing he was against, the thing he despised. Wrongly accused by that by that old machine.

He followed Banshee, Wintersong at his back. His broads shoulders barely scratching the sides of the corridor. Suddenly a loud roar echoed through the Axalon caused Ironclad to look up and focus a bit. He knew its origins which would mean that Landslide was probably on his way to deal with it, A short term solution. That will need to be fixed as well.