Transformers: Steel Reign

[LadyTevar]

"What's... vodka?" asked Hornet, with a puzzled look, following Gridlock towards the Energon Bar.

"That's what I'd like to know as well," Crimson added warily. When you spend decades with prospectors, you learn to get very cautious of anything they offer you to drink, eat, inhale, or otherwise imbibe. She'd gotten into the habit of testing anything offered to her after one drink nearly crashed her computer system.

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke had walked back inside and answered the question. "Human alcohol. Quite strong. Russian's love to drink it." He said, in a largely flat tone.

[Dark Silver]

Gridlock stopped not long after he stepped out the door, turned around, and motioned to Stryke, "You, come. I place you on guard duty of Supply train. Go now. You will be releived in two breems."

With that, Gridlock turned back around, and started walking towards the place known as the Energon bar, really a red plasticrete building just tall enough that Shellshock could fit in, with a slight bit of ducking.

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke nodded and walked over to the train, nodding at the humans. He transformed into his alt form and sat parked next to the train, his holo rider scanning the area from behind the machine gun.

[LadyTevar]

Crimson shrugs and follows Gridlock, wondering why Stryke had to be train guard. "Alcohol... as in Ethanol? Well.. that shouldn't be -too- bad... just rev our RPMs a bit."

[General Havoc]

"Human al... alc... what?" asked Hornet, clearly very confused, but he followed Crimson and the others into the bar, which was (as always) built for someone considerably larger than him.

"What's al... alcohol?" he asked Crimson as he entered. "Is it like Energon?"

[SirNitram]

"Alcohol is an organic chemical from the fermentation of sugar." Overload said, stepping around the two comparatively tiny Autobots gingerly. "It gets humans drunk, and revs my engine to a few extra RPM."

[LadyTevar]

"As slow as you go, that might be a good thing," Crimson quipped, looking up at the much larger 'bot. Then the downside of that idea hit. "Hornet... you may want to just take a small sip first. We are not joking about how Ethanol boosts the engines," she warned, not quite seriously. "We don't want you going sonic while on the ground."

[Dark Silver]

As the three followed him in, Wideload was already at the bar, getting several glowing purple cubes of energy on a tray, and heading to a table. Gridlock slid into the Transformer sized seat, and reached down to offer Hornet a hand. True he would look childlike in the "adult" seat, but he shouldn't have a problem looking over the table.

As Wideload arrived with the slightly humming, glowing purple cubes, he set them one at each seat, and Gridlock took his in his hand. "Aahh...is nothing like good Energon cube to sate thrist after long day."

Wideload was already gulping down his cube, drinking from it like a human would a glass, the purple plasma within it disappearing as it poured down the Transformer's gullet.

[General Havoc]

This concept sounded interesting, like some kind of turbocharger, the sort which Hornet was always begging Wheeljack to install with no success.

"It sounds really cool," he chirped happily. "Can I try some? Please?"

It did not occur to him that a fuel that caused hyperactivity might not be the best thing to introduce into his system... but no doubt it occured to everyone else.

[Dark Silver]

"Of course Teenybot! You are proud Warrior now! You drink like all other warriors!"

[SirNitram]

"Small glass for small engine, though." Overload commented. "Don't want to overfill the little guy. Mighty warriors can't do their job drunk."

[LadyTevar]

Crimson, long practiced in what could go -wrong- with powerful drinks, looked over the purple-glowing 'cube. "Wow.. looks like this Vodka has quite the punch." Purple? When had she last seen purple Energon? She couldn't remember.

"I'll take a smaller glass too... until I know what it will do to my engine. Just split mine with Hornet, ok?"

[Dark Silver]

'Dah dah, is not want to overload his reactor. Take small sips little Comrade." Gridlock advised his new favorite drinking partner....though Hornet hadn't had a sip yet even.

The Energon was originally based on the human drink known as Vodka, and because of it's technically low energy yield, it took great amounts of the liquid to produce a full Energon cube. Because of the low yield, and massive mounts required, it was frowned on to make the cubes from the drink, but Wideload and Gridlock had managed to build their own still, and regularly refilled used Energon cubes with the potent brew.

As such, the Energon in the cubes carried with it, the inebriating effects of alcohol, except it worked on Transformers instead. Their systems having long ago been accustomed to the drink, the two russian Autobots were barely phased by the cubes they were drinking..

[Charon]

Shellshock had made his way down to the Energon Bar and stepped gingerly into the building, ducking some to keep from destroying the door, and the building.

"So, what are we having tonight? I heard something about Vodka energon?"

The huge bot gingerly stepped around the other bots and was extremely careful around the humans.

[SirNitram]

"That's the stuff." Overload nodded, picking up two cubes and handing one to Shellshock. "Gotta be better than the last booze we had." He sobered up quickly. "Shellshock, Gridlock. I want you guys to know I'm suspicious. That guy we brought in? No tracks around the shack. The shack was totalled, he took one hit. And no sign of the Decepticon. I'm... Leery."

[General Havoc]

Hornet picked up the "small" cube of Vodka-Energon (small was, as always, a relative term) and sniffed at it. He had of course no olfactory sensors to actually smell the thing with, but he did have sensitive atmospheric scanners that told him, based on the vapor it was emitting, that this was a potent substance, extremely volatile.

He held his breath (figuratively) and took a gulp of the vodka. Instantly he regretted it. It tasted like the cleaning agents that Wheeljack occasionally forced down his throat, like antifreeze and paint stripper and other chemicals. He winced inadvertantly and would surely have gagged, save that his metalic throat did not posess such a capacity. He gulped the mouthful down and stepped back from the cube, looking like he had just gotten another seagull stuck in his air intakes (THAT had not been a fun incident...)

"YECH!" he said, in the time honored style of his age group. "That stuff's..."

... and then it hit his reactor.

Hornet's optics flew open as he felt his engine catch fire. For a second he worried that his afterburners had been set off in humanoid form (he wasn't sure if that was possible, but...). A moment later however his engine began turning over at triple normal speed, and a burst of power he had never imagined flew straight to his processor, like that time he had accidentally overclocked himself, only far stronger (and with far less burnt circuitry).

He looked up at Crimson, an astonished smile beaming over his face. "CanIhavesomemorepleaseCrimsonPleasecan'tIhavesomemoreIthinkIlikeit!" he asked in a single breath.

[Dark Silver]

"He is in CR Chamber by now, dah? Jazz and Springer coming soon. Prowl sends them to check progress and see about Decepticon, perhaps they can inquire about new guest? Is much work to do on base, Fort Maximal not yet complete, Prime due in two weeks, is undoubtedly come sooner now."

Gridlock was on his second cube of energon, as Wideload left the table, - and headed to the door - and Hornet went insane as he got the first taste of the energon cube. "Now you true Russian Warrior!" Gridlock raised his cube in toast, a large grin on his faceplate.

A few seconds later, the russian speaking Autobot was at the cargo train, motioning Stryke to head to the Energon bar. It was obvious, despite not saying a word, he was taking over.

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke nodded and transformed, walking back to the bar. He entered and walked to the bar, and ordered a small cube of energon vodka, like a shot for 'bots. He took the cube and slammed it down. He shook himself as the energon filled him.

[Charon]

Shellshock took a long draught from his energon. "Ahhh, good stuff. Last time I had something this good was during the war itself. Remember when we were stationed just outside Paris and they got that whole shipment of vodka in?" Shellshock took another long draught.

"They were wondering where that vodka shipment went for a week! And I couldn't shoot straight for three days."

Shellshock ignored the issue of the other Autobot for now, prefering to deal with that later. Though he did say this. "We should find out what other Autobots were supposed to be in this area."

[LadyTevar]

The 'yech' was promising... but Crimson could nearly -see- Hornet's body vibrating as the Vodka-based Energon hit his system. "Oh... dear....," she muttered, carefully holding the cube away from the smaller 'bot as she took her own, careful sip.

She had to clear her auditory circuits with a noise much like a human coughing, and then she too felt her circuits nearly catch fire. "ooooooooooh...."

The cube of Energon was set on the table, and wishly moved BACK out of both her reach and the shorter reach of Hornet's arms. "Hornet? I think I've had enough... wanna go outside and run some of this off?"

She had only once felt this tipsy before. Ah scrap.. it was purple that time too....

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke felt like his circuits were overloading with energy. "Oh, thats good stuff." He needed to burn off some of this energy. Stryke turned and walked out of the bar, nodding to Crimson and the others at the table. He reached outside and started jogging around the camp.

[B4UTRUST]

Ice opened one of the CR chambers as the others left him to be repaired. While they were busy getting drunk he was busy getting to work. Running an onboard program he reset his communicator. The photon blasts would have only temporarily knocked it off line and the hard reset should clear up most of the problems, or at least enough for what he had to do.

He internally composed the message and ran over it a few times. It was short and to the point. When he was finished he would send it in a heavily encrypted burst squirt of data that would be picked up by one of the Decepticon sat controlers.

Target infiltrated. News: Prime and others en route soon to location. Traitor Deathstrike found, on location. Awaiting orders. Request: Seeker strike, saturate target rand parts. Location: 32"37'03N83"37'12W

When he finished preping the message he walked over next to Deathstrike's CR chamber and sent out the burst transmission. The message went active and transmitted, the entire thing lasting less then a second for the miniscule amount of information sent. He shut down his comm again and entered his own empty CR chamber, letting himself be repaired.

[Dark Silver]

Castle Decepticon
New Kaon, Middle East (Formerly Qatar)



Soundwave strode into Megatron's throne room, the Decepticon Communication specialist held a datapad in hand, containing Black Ice's transmission. He stopped as he noted Starscream and Chimera present, along with several other Decepticons, amoung them Trauma and the Predacons.

"Ahh, Soundwave. Report."

"Important dispatch, Lord Megatron."

Soundwave approached Megatron's throne, handing the datapad to his master.

Megatron's red optics narrowed for a moment, before a mighty laugh left his vocal actuators, and reverated in the room.

"This is excellent news...Starscream, I have a mission for you. Take the Combaticons to the these coordinates and attack, leave no nothing left standing, then spread the parts of a few captive autobots for flavour. Chimera, I want you to take Blackout and head to Sector 045. I will require your particular expertise on the project there."

"Of course Megatron" the gathered Decepticons said, Starscream left the throne room, already calling on the comms for the Combaticons to meet him in the air. Chimera was bemused, as he left, trailing not long behind Starscream. He would locate Blackout personally, disliking the use of the comm channels outside of combat. The massive Decepticon Triplechanger would be fun to hunt down.....

[General Havoc]

Hornet meanwhile was by now practically incoherant, the vodka-energon having introduced into his finely-tuned processing systems an element that was most definitely not designed to be there. His reactor core surged with a burst of energy, his actuators and motors shook hard enough to see, and his optics flatly refused to focus on any one thing, any more than his attention did.

He made a few half-hearted grabs for the energon cube Crimson had (wisely) set back from the edge of the bar, far outside his reach, and failed less because he was so small and more because his fine motor control had degenerated completely. He stretched up, trying to reach the cube, overcompensated, tripped forward and wound up laying in a heap on the ground, his gyrocompass spinning uncontrollably in all three dimentions leaving him unable to stand or even determine with any certainty which way was up.

An alarm in his head sounded usually reserved for his airplane form, informing him that he was in the middle of a flat-spin and plunging towards the ground, about to crash. The fact that he was actually curled up on the floor underneath a barstool had no bearing on this matter, and with his head clouded by the energon, he couldn't remember how to override it. Fearfully, he waved his arms around semi-randomly before grabbing at the nearest stable thing he could find, which happened to be Crimson's foot, and clutching it with both wings as tightly as he could, terrified that he was about to fall upwards off the floor and smash into the ceiling.