Transformers: Ashes of Victory

[LadyTevar]

With Breakout handling Shackle, Shimmer reviewed what she'd seen of Lifeline's map of the access tubes. None were big enough for anybot to squeeze though; the crew must use drones themselves if they needed inside. She followed Lifeline over to the security monitor to see if there was any way to affect the rest of the ship's systems from here.

[Cynical Cat]

"There are no other prison rooms," said Lifeline. "I checked. I checked them all. But Gamma Secondus was gone."

Shimmer got a look of security monitor. It was a fairly simple thing. The camera wasn't linked into it and there wasn't much more than controls on the shackles and the shock system. Access to the main systems was limited, which was how Lifeline was able to spoof the system.

[LadyTevar]

Looking over the monitor, Shimmer was both impressed by Lifeline's tampering, and disappointed by how little access it gave to the main ship's system. It served Lifeline's purpose of spoofing the system, but there was very little extra she could do. However...

"You did a good job, Lifeline. You tried very hard, and Gamma Secondus would be proud of you for trying so hard," she comforted the little AI. "If you'd like, I think Hornet would appreciate if you'd become his adjunct until we can track down what happened to Gamma Secondus." Truthfully, Shimmer gave a 20.32% chance of Gamma being in one piece, and the odds of his lasercore surviving were even worse. For now, Hornet seemed a good choice to look after Lifeline.

"Well, 'Bots, I can't do much more with this monitor," Shimmer announced. "Once we're outside the room, they'll know and start trying to lock us down. I might be able to sabotage them from a point with better system access, but we're going to have to move soon."

[General Havoc]

Hornet had no idea what an Adjunct even was, and his dictionary was of no help in that regard, but when Shimmer suggested it, Hornet beamed a smile at her and patted Lifeline gently between the antennae. He wasn't entirely sure what Lifeline's protoform was supposed to be, it looked like someone had tried to cross a ferret with a centipede, but that didn't matter so much.

"Don't worry, Lifeline," he said again. "We'll find Gamma Secondus. I bet the slavers know where they took him, and we can just go and get him." It was cloud logic at best, but Hornet said it anyway, and even believed it, for he did not have the experience nor the calculated skill to determine what Gamma Secondus' odds were, nor the desire to look them up. They would have spoken too fluently of the odds of finding a certain other Autobot...

[Dark Silver]

"Yeah, I remember your rules," Shackle said, looking around for something he could use, even improvised, as a weapon. It look like it'd be a while before he'd get his weapons back. Most painful was the lack of his sword, he enjoyed the weapon a great deal.

"Don't worry Breakout, I have every intention to co-operate. For one: I seriously doubt I could break out of this place on my own, and overcome the crew, no matter how resourceful I become. For two, getting some payback on these empties will be easier with a group working together. For three: I owe one or two of these fine upstanding," those last two words were spoken with a small bit of sarcasm leaking into them, "Mechs favors. Thus you have my word as a professional."

[frigidmagi]

"Good." I stand up. I need Shackle. I need every working bot I can get my hands on, whether I like it or not. At this point I would work with Thundercracker or even Ramjet to get out of here. I offer Shackle a hand up, the rules include responsibilities on my part as well.

"Well, 'Bots, I can't do much more with this monitor," Shimmer announced. "Once we're outside the room, they'll know and start trying to lock us down. I might be able to sabotage them from a point with better system access, but we're going to have to move soon."

"Can you locate such a point Shimmer? Is there one nearby or on the way to the arsenal?" We need to blind the enemy and get weapons. It's really our only chance.

[rhoenix]

After observing Shackle and Breakout talking, Novawing hid his amusement. Decepticons usually had to aim significant amounts of weaponry to aid in negotiations of this sort. However, here they were now, with no weapons, and Breakout had managed to cow the bounty hunter nearly without effort. Impressive, thought Novawing. Moreover, Breakout's military record was more impressive still.

"We will need at least an informal chain of command in this situation to increase our chances of success," Novawing said out loud, with a calm, thoughtful look on his faceplate. "Breakout, I think you have the most experience with command out of us here. I nominate you."

[LadyTevar]

Shimmer started to answer Breakout when Novawing broke in with his chain of command comment. Shimmer couldn't help it, she started laughing. "Oh, you are SO new, Novawing. The Chain of Command is the chain Breakout beat you with when you get out of line."

Still grinning, she turned back to Breakout (and indirectly Shackle,as he was there too). "Lifeline's schematics showed a couple that I can try while we head for the armory, but most of them are inside rooms that Lifeline indicated were locked. You keep them off me while I hack, and I'll take care of the ship's computer."

[rhoenix]

Turning slightly to look at Shimmer, Novawing smiled slightly. "Perhaps I am new," he replied calmly.

What made her quip less funny is that Decepticons used the same philosophy, only they took it quite literally. Perhaps millions of years of Decepticons attacking, and Autobots defending had done more to accentuate their functions and personalities than any of them realized.

Even so, the chain of command had to be established from the top down. This also reinforced to Novawing that once they all managed to escape their captivity, he had to reveal who he once was. After all, if they found out any other way, he would likely never be trusted again. Autobots worked on trust and respect, whereas Decepticons operated primarily on fear and respect. It was a less-than-subtle distinction.

On the other hand, this didn't mean that he couldn't still be himself, as he continued his reply. "But, no beatings with chains of any kind are necessary if everyone agrees," he said in the same calm voice, with a glance at Shackle.

[SirNitram]

"That's how the humans I flew with termed it." Flamebringer nodded. "Don't look to me for much firepower. I'll need to top off my fuel at the ship's own tanks. Then, well, I'll be able to burn through most anyone and power my rifle. But I'm running low on reserves, and it's plain hydrogen, not deutrium or tritium." He looked to Breakout. He was in charge? Okay, introductions..

"I'm Flamebringer. Wheeljack originally termed me Fusion Prototype X-3. Got military upgraded when the war needed me. Earth-built, so I still have my old alt-form from there. This is Hornet, my brother-in-experimentation." He gestured to the smaller bot. "We're not built geared toward combat, but we can and will fight for our friends." A pause of a few microseconds. "And allies." No doubt, a reference to Shackle.

[rhoenix]

So, the first moment had come.

This fact registered in Novawing's mind, even if he realized that the truth about him sounded either ominous, or ludicrous, depending on the presentation. He thought about these things as he listened to Flamebringer speak concisely of his unusual power source and corresponding abilities, as well as his and Hornet's origins not as combat platforms, but... something else.

Then again, if Wheeljack was their creator, then other possibilities certainly arose. For example, the Dinobots - another "experiment" of Wheeljack's, were ostensibly first a study of Earth's history, and frighteningly powerful colossi who reveled in causing mayhem and destruction second.

Even somewhat distracted by the thought of Wheeljack's "experiments" that he'd run into over the years, Novawing was reminded that Medicon had been kind enough to transfer his recorded video logs from the time he brought in Novawing's old body, mangled beyond repair, to the time shortly before the raiders had come.

"I am Novawing, created by Medicon with the specialty of air and space superiority," he said in the same calm voice.

Revelation could wait until things were less dire.

[LadyTevar]

"Since we're getting to know each other, I am Shimmer, although I have gone by other names," Shimmer said with a grin. "I specialize in intelligence, which is why several 'Cons remember me by other names where I talked my way into their bases. It's amusing where a Decepticon-branded Empty can go and not be noticed."

"Shackle, Overhaul, and I are pre-Ark, which is why Overhaul isn't very happy to see Shackle," she explained in brief. "Overhaul and I followed Prime, while Shackle decided he wanted to be independent."

"I was joking about the chain of command, by the way. Breakout was built by Prime to be a warleader, so I tend to consider him in charge in situations like this."

[Charon]

Medicon looked over at Flamebringer and Hornet again. The bot looked considerably more interested in the pair now that he knew they had been built by Wheeljack. He and the mad inventor had met a few times, and Medicon had always been impressed, if a bit wary.

"I am Medicon. Most of you here know me."

The independent bot looked over at Shimmer as she spoke, his red optics looking perhaps a bit annoyed for a moment before he relaxed and went back to scanning the room.

[General Havoc]

Shimmer was joking about the Chain of Command, but Hornet, of course, didn't understand that, and took it as literally as any Decepticon would have, gulping audibly and withdrawing towards Flamebringer, and seemed not wholly convinced after Shimmer claimed otherwise.

When Flamebringer introduced them both, Hornet smiled nervously and actually waved, though he said nothing to gainsay Flamebringer's explanation of who he was. A bot whose arms were literal airplane wings did not need to explain what he was. As the others introduced one another, he gently picked up Lifeline and set him on his shoulder.

"So um..." he finally ventured, once it seemed like introductions were complete, "how... how are we gonna get out of here?"

[Dark Silver]

"Some of you know me....some of you don't. My Designation is Shackle," the mech began, "I used to be a security Mech at the Decagon Maximum security Prison. I chose to go into the lucrative business of Independant Contracting when the War broke out. And here I am now.."

Of course, it was a truncated version of his history - most didn't know all the details, and "legend" had attributed much to him that was fabrication or misunderstandings.

With that, Shackle continued to look for a weapon, he didn't want to go into the fight empty handed, against fully armed Cybertronians. He'd let the others figure out potential escape routes for the moment.

[Hotfoot]

Overhaul turned his back to Shackle as Breakout helped him up. Rules or not, Shackle was trouble waiting to happen, but right now there was other trouble that needed to be dealt with. As much as his circuits yearned to lock Shackle away for the rest of time, or to enact vengeance for all the pain and suffering the rogue Bot had caused, he forced himself to try and focus on the way out. He looked over the map and mused for a moment. “The best option would seem to be to hit engineering, first. Tap into the reactor to fill our reserves and disable the ship. If we can knock out the engines or primary power, with luck we can disable most of the security systems, and at the very least it will take them longer to get to where they’re taking us. They’ll need to send someone to fix the problem, which means we can try to split them up between the bridge and engineering. If nothing else, we can use some of the tools from engineering as weapons until we get our normal systems restored.â€

[frigidmagi]

Shimmer's introduction wasn't entirely accurate but it would serve. I turned to Overhaul.

"I would prefer the arsenal first. Any Cons in the Engineering bay would be heavily armed with all the systems and weapons they've stolen from their victims. Any encounters between them and us would end quickly and badly if we do not address that force imbalance. On the other hand, they believe us deactivated or bound and drained. We must move quickly to arm ourselves before they realize that is incorrect. If Shimmer and Lifeline can disable the internal computer system before, during or while we're in the Arsenal then we improve our chances of success." I stopped for a moment, letting my points sink in.

"Shimmer you should take point. Shackle you and I will be in front." Rules or no rules I intended to ensure Shackle was where I could see him.

"Novawing, Hornet, Flamebringer and Medicon will be in the middle." That ensured that the bots who were least able or likely to fight would stay out of the way.

"Overhaul, I need you for the rear guard. Make sure no one is sneaking up on us or gets left behind." Overhaul was the best bot I thought for detacted assignment. Unlikely to use that freedom to hurt the team but strong enough and smart enough to carry out the job without someone watching.

"Any Questions?" I asked.

[rhoenix]

"No questions here," replied Novawing evenly, already getting a better idea of how Autobots ran things under duress, and feeling somewhat impressed. "Let's go get our things back."

[LadyTevar]

"Would be nice to have my camoflage back if I'm going to be point," Shimmer muttered, but nodded. "First place Lifeline and I can get into, we'll try to bluff all sensors."

She looked down to the little AI, wrapped around Hornet's shoulders. "Lifeline, I am going to need your help with this, as you know the ship best. Would you mind riding on me, so we can work together?" She held a hand out to Hornet and the little AI, giving Lifeline the choice. The little AI didn't have a lasercore or a Spark of true life, but all beings responded better to invitation than to threats. Pity most 'Cons never learned that lesson. Shimmer was positive that Lifeline would join her of his own free will.

[Cynical Cat]

Lifeline extended antennae and touch Shimmer's hand before crawling up the Autobot's arms. "The main computer monitors all systems," said Lifeline. "Even the doors. Outside this room it will know." He waved his antennae sadly. Then it perked up. "There are only surveillance monitors in this room."

[General Havoc]

As Lifeline climbed over onto Shimmer, Hornet glanced around at the others before venturing a question of his own.

"Can... can I help too?" he asked.

The notion of Hornet being able to help hack into a hostile computer system to retrieve complicated schematics and security protocols was so absurd that it was unlikely even Hornet himself believed that he could provide useful aide. What he was plainly asking was not whether he could help, but merely whether he could accompany Shimmer and Lifeline. As to why he might ask such a thing, the occasional, yet still noticeable nervous glances he made in Shackle's general direction were probably part of it. It wasn't that Shackle had said or done anything really, just the general vibe of everyone else's hostility that seemed to swirl around Shackle like an aura, thick enough that even oblivious Hornet had noticed it. That aside, Overhaul had told him to help Shimmer and Lifeline, and he did want to make sure Lifeline was okay. Having promised the little drone that he would help him find Gamma Secundus, he couldn't very well just walk away and risk Lifeline getting hurt or destroyed, at least in Hornet's worldview.

Of course, what Hornet proposed to do to prevent these things was a question perhaps best left unasked.

[LadyTevar]

Shimmer looked down at Hornet. "No, I think it's best you do as Breakout says. He's got good reason to have you in the center."

She didn't know what this little Autobot could do, but she sincerely doubted Wheeljack programed him for data-sifting. If he had, Hornet would look a whole lot different. WheelJack was a crazed genius, but what he did usually had purpose. Hornet, for whatever reason, was a tiny aircraft.

[Charon]

Medicon nodded solemnly at Breakout's orders and moved with the rest. He had little to add though, bereft of his tools and in a place where there was only war to be had.

[Dark Silver]

Shackle heard Breakout's orders, and simply nodded. There wasn't much of anything he could find as a improvised weapon.

"Slag it..." Shackle said, giving up his search, "Sounds like a plan."

With that, Shackle moved to where he was told, certain in time he'd get his chance to regain his beloved sword.

[General Havoc]

Hornet seemed to deflate slightly as Shimmer told him that no, he could not come. Concerns regarding suitability had not really entered into his mind, all he wanted to do was "help". It had not really occured to him to evaluate his likely ability to "help" with what Shimmer and Lifeline had to do.

"Oh," he said, lowering his head. "Okay..." He seemed to want to add more, but thought better of it, stepping back and waiting for someone to tell him what they wanted him to do, rubbing self-consciously at the gashes torn in his forewings.