Transformers: Steel Reign

[Dark Silver]

"You are good comrades...dah..I give you deese." Gridlock's voical actuators were strained as he routed power to his servoes and internal repair functions. Deathstrike and Overload where heavy hitters, he lost ground every second, and he couldn't hope to win.

"For Mother Russia!" he shouted, letting himself fall to the ground. The manuver, with luck, wasn't anticipated by the others, and would let their momentum carry themselves over. At the same time, the Arc weilder cannon came into play, as Gridlock slammed it into Deathstrike's gut, and opened fire.

Unfortunatly, the Gernade landed and exploded at the same instant. "Oh shit..." Gridlock said very humanlike, as the explosion was powerful enough to kick him right into Overload and Deathstrike, as the unprocessed energon washed over them all. Their systems became saturated, and their internal computers all reported the same thing "Energon levels critical - initiating emergency Stasis Lock."

[Charon]

Shellshock paused as the energon grenade fell amongst the battling 'bots. Shellshock for a moment was about to yell at Crimson about trying to avoid friendly fire and that his message had been one as a last resort. Then the old warbot remembered that he was not dealing with a seasoned fighter who would understand that kind of thing, and he could have been a little clearer on that.

With a sigh the warbot transformed again, activating his comm. "Ironhide, this is Shellshock. We have Gridlock in stasis, at the front gate, he tried to make a break for it, so I'd call that definitive proof. Deathstrike and Overload got caught in Crimson's grenade radius though, so we're gonna need pick-up for three. Might want to go find Wideload as well. We can't risk that he's not involved in this."

Shellshock looked over at Crimson. "Good shot kid. Though for future reference, I'd meant that as a last resort."

Shellshock headed over to the pile of 'bots, dragging Gridlock off of the other two with a grunt of effort. The old warbot was sorely tempted to blow off one of the traitor's legs, just to be sure he couldn't run away. But he just kept his gun trained on the inert body as he set about moving the other two as well, checking their vital systems to make certain they were ok.

[Cynical Cat]

The heavy cutting torch had just began to work when the energon wave crashed over Deathstrike and froze Gridlock. Deathstrike, who had his circuits still protected by armour, didn't take it nearly as bad as Gridlock but the effect was still devastating. His limbs seized up and froze.

Energon Overload
All Systems Crashed
Rebooting . . . . .

[LadyTevar]

Shellshock looked over at Crimson. "Good shot kid. Though for future reference, I'd meant that as a last resort."

Shellshock headed over to the pile of 'bots, dragging Gridlock off of the other two with a grunt of effort. The old warbot was sorely tempted to blow off one of the traitor's legs, just to be sure he couldn't run away. But he just kept his gun trained on the inert body as he set about moving the other two as well, checking their vital systems to make certain they were ok.

Crimson followed the larger Bot, moving a little slower than before with the lost of some of her Energon. "I'm not throwing high explosives, Shellshock. Stryke's referred to it as a 'FlashBang' ... it disables and confuses but doesn't kill. If they'd not been beating each other to scrap, they'd not be in total lockdown, but just stunned a few cycles."

[SirNitram]

Overload had been tipping forward as the blast of energon overwhelmed his circuitry.

Energon Surge Detected. Engaging Stasis Lock.

The oversized robot seized up and locked down. And finished tipping over, landing on Gridlock with an almighty crash.

[Charon]

Crimson followed the larger Bot, moving a little slower than before with the lost of some of her Energon. "I'm not throwing high explosives, Shellshock. Stryke's referred to it as a 'FlashBang' ... it disables and confuses but doesn't kill. If they'd not been beating each other to scrap, they'd not be in total lockdown, but just stunned a few cycles."

"I don't care if it was a super 'only deactivates Decepticons' beam. You don't shoot it into a group of friendlies unless you absolutely have to, or you are absolutely certain you will hit only the enemy." Shellshock looked over at Crimson. "What would we do now if Gridlock had informed his Decepticon allies and they formed a massive retrieval operation to get him back? We would be two highly capable warriors down."

[General Havoc]

One second, Hornet was laying on the ground, trying to make the world stop spinning around him, the next something grabbed him around his midsection and practically hurled him out of the line of fire. He landed hard on the ground to the side of the entrance, still trying to figure out what was going on, when his sensors picked up a massive EMP/energon blast from nearby, and then all went blank.

He got up slowly, steadying himself against a rock as his gyroscopic systems rebooted and spun back up again. Once he could stand without falling over, he turned towards the Autobot who had pulled him asside, a giant black flier that he'd never before seen. "Thanks..." he chirped to the newcomer before turning back to face the fallen combattants.

Shellshock and Crimson were standing over the three others in a heap. Hornet slowly made his way over to where they were standing. "What... what happened?" he asked Shellshock or Crimson, whoever wished to enlighten him as to what had just transpired.

[Cynical Cat]

Deathstrike jerked his limbs. All systems online again. He raised his fist and smashed it down into the gap he had burned in Gridlock's armour. The hole wasn't large enough, but the impact of his fist solved that. He jerked his hand out holding a handful of circuits. For good measure he bent the arc welder and ripped the rifle out of Gridlock's hands as he stepped away from frozen 'bot.

"Good shooting Crimson," he said. "Status on the Autobots Gridlock downed?"

[LadyTevar]

Crimson had jerked backwards as Deathstrike suddenly rebooted and made -sure- Gridlock wasn't getting up.

"umm... See, Shellshock? Just a flashbang... Only hurts if you're already wounded." Crimson stuttered, looking up at the larger Decepticon. Who had just complimented her shooting. Then again, it was well-documented that Decepticons would shoot into melee and hit their allies just to kill the Autobot standing nearby.

Whatever works, as Elita-1 had pointed out more than once. "Sorry I couldn't warn you to boost that time, Deathstrike. Gridlock would have heard me."

[Cynical Cat]

"Not a problem," said Deathstrike. "When there is only one foe, an area effect disabler is acceptable. It's not like you fired a fusion cannon into a close melee."

[Charon]

Shellshock looked down at Hornet, still the warbot's gun never moved from pointing at Gridlock.

"Crimson brought the three of them down with an energon grenade."

[SirNitram]

"I can't feel my left arm." Overload complained as he slowly rebooted. The exposed circuits had taken more damage, though his self-repair routines were chomping at the bit. "I suppose we should secure him before he gets back up." A deep sigh. "I'm gonna get Ironhide on the horn..."

The internal comm came online. "Ironhide, this is Overload. The hall's are a mess, and Gridlock is down, possibly with other casualties. He went berserk, I think." A long sigh. "I'm sorry, short stuff." A rare moment of a friendly nickname for the famous Autobot. "I hope it's just reprogramming."

[LadyTevar]

Crimson thought of Megatron's habit of firing into melees and shook her head. "I don't have the power," she admitted bluntly, displaying up her laser pistol. Decent range, more suitable for many quick shots or mid-range sniping than for massive damage, and smaller than anyone larger than Bumblebee could wield without breaking. "Unfortunately, I can also only do three grenades on average."

[General Havoc]

Hornet's optics widened to the size of dinner plates as he glanced back and forth at Crimson and at the three massive forms she had brought down with her grenade. "You did?!" he asked in wonder as he looked up at her, clearly VERY impressed. "Wow!"

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke moved down the hall. He had moved out of Overload's way and was just now reaching the group. "Slag, I missed it again?" Stryke said. He looked to the small fembot. "You ok, Crim?"

[LadyTevar]

Crimson gave Stryke a wide smile. "I told you to put a nitrous burner in, slowpoke," she teased. "ShellShock got outside before you did."

She did not brag on her role in the fight, merely sent her weapon back to subspace and walked around Gridlock's prone form to Stryke's side, patting Hornet on the head as she walked past. "You dented your paintjob, Hornet," she smirked, recalling WheelJack's first comment when she and Hornet had burst into his lab. "Go see WheelJack."

She slid an arm around Stryke, leaning her head against him. "I need more energon, though..."

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke smiled at her and put an arm around her. "Lets get you some then. Though not that vodka energon." He said, leading her off towards where the energon was stored.

"And we need to talk about you always putting yourself in danger like this." He said, as they left the area.

[Marcao]

He did what he could to minimize Hornet’s discomfort but time was an issue. He shed speed after having removed Hornet from immediate danger, his feet making contact with the ground a moment later. His body turned, optics focusing on the altercation before catching sight of peripheral motion. He did not have the time to zoom in and give the object further scrutiny; the EMP/Energon spike was not at all expected. By virtue of his alt-form he possessed an impressive amount of redundant systems; this redundancy was only enhanced by virtue of the typical autobot construction methods. In the end however, it all availed for little. He had not been prepared for this little eventuality. His optics went blank.

It took time for his systems to return to their usual, when his optics came back online his head tilted and caught sight of Hornet. The tiny bot’s words lingered in the air for only a moment before he nodded. “You are welcome.â€

[General Havoc]

As Crimson walked off, Hornet deflated once again, looking down at his scuffed and ruined paint and at the dents that covered his metalic frame. Wheeljack was going to be furious. And it meant more time spent cooped up in the repair bay. He fought back tears that threatened to form. It wasn't fair...

The newcomer walked up next to him and asked about what had happened. Hornet said nothing (he didn't really KNOW what had happened), but he figured he should at least ask the black flier's name, so that he could tell Wheeljack just who had pulled him out of the way (Wheeljack took an unusual interest in just who Hornet had dealings with, and what those dealings consisted of).

"Hi," he said, looking up at the larger flier, his dissapointment at having gotten himself banged up barely masked by his chirpy voice. "I'm Hornet. Who are you?"

He had INTENDED to give the black flier time to reply, but then something he had said caught his attention.

"Wait..." he said, "... what happened to Redzone?"

[Cynical Cat]

"Redzone is dead?" Deathstrike asked. "A pity. Score another victory for this traitor." Disgust dripped from the former Decepticon's voice. "This is why we should have done it my way."

[Dark Silver]

Twenty-Four hours later

"Good Evening, I'm Isolde Holden with WNDC - World News Digital Cable Network. Earlier today Autobot Leader Optimus Prime and World Leaders finished the long negotiations for the forming of the Earth Defense Command Directorate, or the EDCD. This new organization will oversee the assimilation of the current Allied militaries under one offensive command structure. Optimus Prime consented to the use of Autobot weapons technology in order to outfit this new united Earth military. Included in these technologies are new power systems for our grounded air fleets, new designs in directed energy weapons, new mechanized infantry vehicles, and armored vehicles to assist in the ongoing war against the Decepticon forces. In return, the Autobots have been granted 500,000 acres of land in the nothwestern United States seperate from their Mount Saint Helen base.. When asked their plans for this parceled land, the Autobots commented they intended to build a permanant defensive base there."

[Cynical Cat]

"Basing right?!" Deathstrike said with disgust. The warrior was not pleased with what he was seeing and hearing. "They should be down on their knees in gratitude that they have Prime between them and Megatron and they haggle over basing rights. They should be yielding their industries and resources to us so we can actually beat them. Instead we get this. Organics."

[LadyTevar]

"It's their planet, Deathstrike," Crimson pointed out, also watching the newsfeed. "So they should get first say over what's being done to it. Enemies invade, squatters steal, but allies ask permission."

[Cynical Cat]

"It was their planet," said Deathstrike. "Now its Megatron's. Your pithy sayings change nothing. We're sitting here, bargaining with humans of bases to defend them with instead of mustering a counter offensive. We need to carry the fight to them and we need every erg of energy and gram of metal the humans can give us to fuel that war machine."

[SirNitram]

"Deathstrike, I have a question." Overload said, watching the news. "Have you ever seen what a Mark V Cannon does to a Decepticon? I promise you these humans have far more use than simply turning everything over."