Transformers: Steel Reign

[rhoenix]

"These things are cannon fodder. Upgunned from straight MiG aircraft, they can threaten lighter Cybertronians, but first and foremost they exist as psych warfare. You think oh dear, the poor humans.. And you hesitate. And you question." Overload, hardened by wars organic and transformer, didn't seem as inhibited. "I don't know if they recruit or enslave for these. But human nations are being convinced there's gains to make by siding with the Decepticons. Humans are damn capable of being conquering peices of slag, same as us. Trust me. I can playback the local conflict identified as 'World War II' if you doubt they can be evil."

At this, Blindside sat back on his haunches and listened to Overload go over this new, horrifying development of the war. Overload was right - if he had first learned about them in battle, he would have hesitated, and questioned, despite them being on the side of the Decepticons. Blindside shook his head - this was insidious, even for the Decepticons, but no doubt effective.

For a few microseconds, he gazed at the hologram of the Terran Headmaster MiG unit. He swiftly came to an understanding - if the humans inside were enslaved by the Decepticons to fight, then the Decepticons would have placed safeguards for those so enslaved to break free, in all likelihood killing them just as surely as if they had died in battle. If they had been recruited to join the war, then they were just as valid a target as any Decepticon that attacked them. In either case, they can and must be considered valid targets, he decided. Either as reformed Headmasters, or as modified versions of their natural organic selves, they can and must be treated as the enemy if they were on the side of the enemy.

This caused him to value the Terrans who had avoided such a fate even more. He broke his brief silence by looking up at Overload. "Although I think it would horrify me, I would like to see it, Overload. It would help me to value the Terrans who choose peace even more."

He looked back at the Terran Headmaster hologram, his golden optics seeming to darken somewhat. "However, if they show themselves on the side of the Decepticons, then they shall be treated as Decepticons."

[LadyTevar]

"The first time I saw these," Crimson said slowly, giving the hologram a troubled look, "I was using the central eye as a target sight." The memory still repulsed her. "Then... I missed and hit the neck."

One motion, draw and fire. She wasn't sure the hologram would react right, but as her shot hit the neck connecter the drone's head leapt from the shoulders, transforming from a single-eyed conical head to a armoured human, just over 2m tall.

Even as a hologram, it made her flinch. "Organics ...... can't tranform like that naturally." Her voice was dead, flat, too full of emotions to carry them. "Their bones, their flesh ... they *can't* do that. It should rip them apart at the joints."

She had to turn away. "Hit the eye. It's a mercy shot." It was clear that Crimson had to think that way, in order to reconcile what she'd done.

[SirNitram]

"I'll assemble the relevent data from our exploration mission." Overload nodded simply. "The technology will strike you as shockingly primitive; aircraft which move by a principle of spinning blades, and the most advanced weapon of the war was an incredibly simple atomic explosive. But there's a steel in them." A pause. "Humans are frail physically. But they can acheive the heights of heroism and depths of villainy as any Transformer. Best to acquaint yourself with that idea now, before we have to fight some."

[rhoenix]

Even as a hologram, it made her flinch. "Organics ...... can't tranform like that naturally." Her voice was dead, flat, too full of emotions to carry them. "Their bones, their flesh ... they *can't* do that. It should rip them apart at the joints."

She had to turn away. "Hit the eye. It's a mercy shot." It was clear that Crimson had to think that way, in order to reconcile what she'd done.

Blindside watched in shock at Crimson's demonstration. He quickly sent a private transmission to Teletran-1, asking for a full biological treatise on the Terran body, and he compared the results to what he observed as the head of the MiG transformed from Crimson's shot.

Feeling a bit more stunned than before, he realized that Crimson was right - an ordinary human would never have been able to survive that transformation. The fact that they resembled Shockwave's head before they transformed made it easier for him to think of them as enemies, despite the horror that must have been inflicted upon a Terran to make one become a Headmaster of that sort.

"I see now another reason that I should have come down here to practice my aim," Blindside said grimly.

"I'll assemble the relevent data from our exploration mission." Overload nodded simply. "The technology will strike you as shockingly primitive; aircraft which move by a principle of spinning blades, and the most advanced weapon of the war was an incredibly simple atomic explosive. But there's a steel in them." A pause. "Humans are frail physically. But they can acheive the heights of heroism and depths of villainy as any Transformer. Best to acquaint yourself with that idea now, before we have to fight some."

If Transformers had to breathe, Blindside would have taken a deep, shuddering breath. He had gone into this firing range to face his past, to learn how to become a proper warrior who could shoot as well as fight in close quarters - but the revelations in the past megacycle had shocked him clear to his spark chamber. He had known in vague terms the horror of war, but to be faced with such insidiousness from the Decepticons made him almost shudder.

It was oddly comforting to know that these fragile Terrans were every bit as fallible, and capable of inflicting horror or inspiring hope as the Transformers seemed to be, if not more so, though that did not make the prospect of facing what amounted to robosmashed humans in battle any easier.

At last, he nodded to Overload. "Thank you - I'd like to see it."

He stared off into the distance for a moment, before getting up. The undercurrent of strong emotion in Crimson's voice at her accounting, the reconciled shock as Overload gave his account of the Terrans, coupled with what he had just learned about what the Decepticons had done was getting to him. He needed to take a walk.

He looked at both of them solemnly. "My thanks to both of you. I need to take a walk to clear my head. I'll be back in time for the meeting."

Blindside's footsteps weren't quite as silent as usual, and he didn't have his hands clasped at the small of his back as usual either as he left the firing range.

[Cynical Cat]

Deathstrike walked to the firing line. "Engage on my mark, multiple vectors, random selection of targets including all target types. Mark."

He raised his right arm as new holotargets materialized. Deathstrike fired as his weapon came to bear on them. A continious beam swiped through a squad of holohumans and he peppered a pair of casseticons with a series of rapid fire burts. He sliced through a holoMiG and fired a series of pulses were sent at a Seeker. One hit and Deathstrike followed up with pair of finishing shots.

He swivvled to engage a tank, striking it with a single pulse. The holoGuardian lumbered close to him. Deathstrike shot a trio of pulses into the holoGuardian's face and continious beam sweeps of the holoGuardian's joints.

"End," said Deathstrike. "Display hit locations and schematics of targets." The golden lines floated in front of the Decepticon warrior as Deathstrike evaluated his shooting.

[LadyTevar]

Watching DeathStrike at the target line was a distraction, and Crimson needed it badly. She walked closer, looking at the displayed shots and their effectiveness against the targets.

She had to admit that he was a deadly shot. "Next combat, I'll clear the small fry and leave the heavies to you," she said, half-jokingly.

[Cynical Cat]

"Not necessarily an optimal strategy," said Deathstrike. "Your energon grenades can incapacitate a powerful target for a critical amount of time."

[SirNitram]

"If one were to strike the joint of a Guardian or the connector of a Gestalt, it'd certainly be unpleasant.. For them." Overload nodded slowly. "The question would be, in that instance, getting you close enough."

[rhoenix]

After walking out of the firing range, Blindside almost seemed to dissolve out of his robot form, and into his wolf form, quickly dropping off most sensors.

As he walked aimlessly through the Ark, a small part of him was interested in the reactions of other Autobots within it - some, who observed with all their senses, either looked at him in surprise or glared at him as he walked. Others, however, didn't notice him at all. For the most part however, he just thought about what he had learned of the Terrans from Crimson and Overload. Either being forced into being disposable warriors, or volunteering - either way, he felt saddened and stunned by the revelation. The image of the Terran Headmaster transforming with the motions of a Terran body superimposed over it by his mind's eye went over it again and again.

Soon enough, he found himself at the entrance to the Ark, and he saw that it was dusk outside. Looking past the huge Ark, he saw the large mountain rising solemnly above the ancient spacecraft-turned-base. Following a sudden impulse, he began to swiftly and surely ascend the mountain, leaping from some rocks, and climbing the more sheer ones with his sharp claws gaining him purchase. Soon enough, he reached the top, and he saw the nearly-full moon of Earth's sitting higher in the sky.

The sight quietened his mind, and he just drank in the natural beauty of the sight. In the far distance, he saw a forest of tall evergreen trees seeming to frame the glowing moon. He sat down on his haunches to stare at the surrounding natural beauty of this planet, revealed before him.

At this moment, he felt calmed, and much more sure of himself. He would fight to make sure that this sight remained - that there would be the organic wild on this small world to cause his energon heartbeat to slow down in reverence. That Terrans would still be here to imagine, to love one another, to pursue their passions. He would fight with all his will, might, and skill to make sure that the Decepticons were pushed off this beautiful and wondrous world for good.

[LadyTevar]

"And getting me out," Crimson added with a frown. "Unlike my pistols, the grenades draw on my personal reserves, which is why I try not to use them."

Yet, both of the larger bots had seen her fire several grenades when the Decepticons attacked Fort Maximal, so she explained further. "After you drove off BlackIce, Death, Ravage snuck in. I nearly drained myself with one last grenade on him. If WheelJack hadn't found us and shared some of his energon with me, I would not have made it to Skylynx with Hornet."

[General Havoc]

Un-noticed in the talk of humans and wars of old, Hornet had managed to slip out of the training area, and in fact of the Ark itself. He had heard what the others had said about the humans, but this time he did not chime in, merely listened, and felt a terrible gnawing feeling deep within his spark that seemed to show up whenever the others spoke of "necessary measures" or "coerced humans". And so he did what he often did at such times. He went flying.

He often flew over to the local human air base and tried to stir up a game or two, or went down to the human city of Seattle to watch all the people down below, but today he didn't feel much like that, so instead he simply went for a lazy cruise around the national park that surrounded the Ark. He did this for about twenty minutes, before winging over, braking, and transforming as he landed atop a large bald-top mountain nearby. Once there, he sat down with a hollow "clink", staring off into space over the forests and mountains, and sighing softly as he leaned back against a tree, disturbing a nest of squirrels above, who raced down the tree animatedly and decided that the only appropriate penalty for Hornet having woken them was for them to sit on top of his head.

He didn't mind.

[rhoenix]

Despite gazing at the scenery, Blindside hadn't missed the small jet flying around the landscape surrounding the Ark. He also didn't miss Hornet landing somewhat heavily, and leaning up against the tree, staring off into the distance, just as Blindside himself was. From the look on Hornet's face, he appeared to be troubled. Given that Blindside had seen Hornet in the target range around the same time the talk had changed to humans, he could guess what was bothering him.

Still in his wolf form, Blindside took care to make some noise as he walked up next to Hornet, and sat down a few meters away. As he sat, he noticed that the squirrels had noticed his approach, and scampered back up the tree, chattering irritatedly. As he spoke, his voice held more of softly growling undertone than it did in his robot form. "Hi Hornet. Did the talk about humans, and 'necessary measures' get to you, too?"

[General Havoc]

Blindside lived up to his name. Hornet had absolutely no idea anyone was here besides himself, and when he turned his head and saw Blindside, for a brief, horrible instant, he thought it was Ravage, come to kill him. He let out a yelp and jumped, landing flat on his back and scrambling back to his feet before his IFF kicked in and identified the wolf-thing as Blindside.

Once he realized who it was, he slowly relaxed and calmed down. "S... sorry..." he said. "I thought you were Ravage..."

He got back up slowly, dusting himself off and trying to retain whatever dignity he had left (nearly none).

"I just... I was just going for a fly. How come you're here?"

[rhoenix]

Once he realized who it was, he slowly relaxed and calmed down. "S... sorry..." he said. "I thought you were Ravage..."

He got back up slowly, dusting himself off and trying to retain whatever dignity he had left (nearly none).

"I just... I was just going for a fly. How come you're here?"

Feeling chagrined that he had frightened Hornet like that, Blindside changed liquidly into his robot form, and sat down softly upon the ground. "I'm sorry, Hornet - I didn't meant to startle you."

Blindside stared off into the distance for a few moments before replying again. "I came up here to get my mind off all the talk about 'necessary measures' when it comes to the humans. I know intellectually that the ones fighting on the side of the Decepticons should be treated as enemies, but it's still somewhat painful to think about for me."

[General Havoc]

Hornet couldn't possibly have agreed more.

"Everyone says that the humans from China or some other places have decided to help the Decepticons, and that now they're our enemies. But... I know humans from around here. They're my friends too, just like the Autobots. And.... some of the others, they think I oughta... they don't want me to think about how I have to hurt humans..."

He blinked back a tear at the memory of what he had done, and sat back down against the tree, pulling his knees up to his chin and wrapping his wings around them like a tight little ball.

"The last fight we were in... I was in the repair bay," he said, not even sure why he was speaking of this to Blindside. "And five human drones came in and started shooting everyone. I... I wasn't sure what to do but... they were gonna kill all the other humans... all our friends... so... so I killed them. I know I killed one of them. Maybe the others survived..."

He sniffed a few times, and then looked back up at Blindside. "And... everyone else said I was like a hero for doing it, but... I don't feel like a hero."

[rhoenix]

"Everyone says that the humans from China or some other places have decided to help the Decepticons, and that now they're our enemies. But... I know humans from around here. They're my friends too, just like the Autobots. And.... some of the others, they think I oughta... they don't want me to think about how I have to hurt humans..."

Blindside watched Hornet blink back a tear, and huddle against the tree, wrapping his wings around himself. After a moment, Hornet continued.

"The last fight we were in... I was in the repair bay," he said, not even sure why he was speaking of this to Blindside. "And five human drones came in and started shooting everyone. I... I wasn't sure what to do but... they were gonna kill all the other humans... all our friends... so... so I killed them. I know I killed one of them. Maybe the others survived..."

At this Blindside nodded, and began to think about his conversation earlier with Crimson and Overload about the "reformatted" humans.

He sniffed a few times, and then looked back up at Blindside. "And... everyone else said I was like a hero for doing it, but... I don't feel like a hero."

Nodding again, Blindside looked thoughtfully at Hornet. "I was talking with Crimson and Overload about this earlier. They both said that the humans attacking you then, and the ones fighting as Headmasters for the MiG jets had been...changed somehow. Changed to make them better, living weapons capable of harming us. That they weren't the humans we admire or that you'd talked with anymore."

He paused, and looked back at the moon, shining quietly in the sky. "I'd read some books written by humans, I'd even encountered them briefly while on my way to the Ark in the first place, right before I met you and Crimson for the first time. As I was up here, right before you landed is when I first began to make peace with both sides of them."

Looking back at Hornet now, he continued solemnly. "The Decepticons are cruel enough to take away the qualities we like in our Autobot friends to turn them into nothing more than bloodthirsty predators, and they've shown themselves to be cruel and insidious enough to do the same for the humans here. They know how it makes us stop, and question ourselves, and they're using the fact that we care about the humans, and like them against us."

He looked back at the moon, looking more grim. "The fact that they're doing that just to make us stumble and pause is...far more evil than I'd thought was possible. I am willing to fight the humans who have been...reformatted by the Decepticons, even though it makes me shudder at the thought. I will do it for the humans who have not been reformatted, who still dream, think, laugh, play, cry, or be passionate."

Smiling a little sadly, he looked back at Hornet again. "You're a hero because you were able to do that, and save the humans that have not been reformatted, even though it hurt you to do it. I hope I can do the same thing when my time comes. Even though I can steel myself to call the reformatted humans my enemy and attack them if they attack me in battle, I'll need to come back up here to shake it off afterward."

[General Havoc]

"But the Decepticons can't all be that evil," said Hornet in his chirpy voice, now saddened and thin. "Deathstrike was a Decpticon, and Mirage, and Jetfire, and Shellshock. And they're all our friends now. I'm not... big enough... to kill the Decepticons, but if I was I wouldn't want to kill them any more than the humans. Not if I didn't have to. Everyone thinks I'm just sad because humans had to die, and I am, but... I don't just want to kill a whole bunch of Decepticons instead of humans. Not if I don't have to..."

He sighed and was quiet for a moment.

"How come the Decepticons hate us so much? How come they have to do that to the humans? What did we ever do to them?"

[rhoenix]

"But the Decepticons can't all be that evil," said Hornet in his chirpy voice, now saddened and thin. "Deathstrike was a Decpticon, and Mirage, and Jetfire, and Shellshock. And they're all our friends now. I'm not... big enough... to kill the Decepticons, but if I was I wouldn't want to kill them any more than the humans. Not if I didn't have to. Everyone thinks I'm just sad because humans had to die, and I am, but... I don't just want to kill a whole bunch of Decepticons instead of humans. Not if I don't have to..."

He sighed and was quiet for a moment.

"How come the Decepticons hate us so much? How come they have to do that to the humans? What did we ever do to them?"

This was a question Blindside had thought about often for quite a while. "Quite honestly Hornet, I don't know for sure. I have a guess, though, from talking with Deathstrike and Shellshock, as well as listening to others."

He paused for a microsecond to collect his thoughts, looking once again at the moon through his golden optics. "From what I remember of history, Megatron gathered together most of the Transformers built for war by appealing to their egos. He told them that they should be used for their rightful purpose, to conquer, to fight in glorious battle, to be seen as the best and most powerful, conveniently making them forget that they already were. The problem with this approach, to fight and conquer all the time, is that you have to have an enemy to fight. In this case, it was all the other Transformers who weren't built for war; those who became the Autobots."

Blindside looked back at Hornet with a somewhat sad smirk. "That was Megatron's grandest trick, I think - getting those who listened to him to think that just being satisfied with being as good as they could be was not enough - that they had to be better than everyone else. In that quest to prove that they were better, they managed to talk themselves into doing some terrible things to justify to themselves that they were better. But thinking about this, that view must make them hate, and fear not being better. The ones who joined us probably did so because they got tired of hating, and got tired of feeling like they needed to try proving that they were better than someone else constantly."

"We Autobots have companionship, compassion for one another," At this, he smiled at Hornet, "and we have talks like this. We Autobots may be fewer now, but we don't need to prove anything to ourselves. I think most of us just want everyone to calm down and realize that being better than someone else doesn't matter, only being better than who you were matters."

A note by his internal chronometer let Blindside know that the time for the meeting with Breakout had nearly arrived. "We've been talking for a while - I think it's almost time for us to meet up with the rest of Group Ico."

At this, he shifted liquidly into his wolf form, which still had the golden optics. Looking back at Hornet, he asked in a voice that had a growling undertone, "Ready to go, Hornet?"

[Charon]

"And getting me out," Crimson added with a frown. "Unlike my pistols, the grenades draw on my personal reserves, which is why I try not to use them."

Yet, both of the larger bots had seen her fire several grenades when the Decepticons attacked Fort Maximal, so she explained further. "After you drove off BlackIce, Death, Ravage snuck in. I nearly drained myself with one last grenade on him. If WheelJack hadn't found us and shared some of his energon with me, I would not have made it to Skylynx with Hornet."

Shellshock watched the others for a time, before responding to this part. "I could help with that. I'm pretty good at soaking up fire, and if we get you in your alt. mode Breakout might be able to transport you close enough in his troop compartment, and back out. Then we can leave the target to Deathstrike and myself to bring it down with the big guns."

[B4UTRUST]

Slipstream had wandered the halls and corridors of the Ark for as long as he thought he could get away with it. It was time to report to his new team lead.

He heard a lot of noise and commotion coming from one of the training rooms. Poking his head in he saw Deathstrike, Shellshock, and the rest discussing tactics of battle. Sounds like they got shoved into the same team he did. This should be great. Two fliers and a load of ground pounders. Next thing they were going to tell him is that he had to babysit Hornet to boot. This was going to be about as fun as squaring off with Megatron unarmed and without enough energon to power a petrorabbit.
"Seems like I wasn't the only one who got put in this little party. Where's Breakout so I can report in?"

[Cynical Cat]

"You can report to me in his absence," Deathstrike said to Slipstream. "I'm Breakout's second."

[B4UTRUST]

Slipstreams optics widened slightly in surprise. Could it be that the ground pounder actually had the common sense Primus gave a protoform? That the dirtdweller knew he didn't know fragall about aerial combat? Maybe this might just be tolerable. Deathstrike was, to his knowledge, a competant leader and a superior aerial fighter.

"Well then, in that case; Slipstream reporting as ordered. Prime assigned me to Breakout's unit."

[LadyTevar]

"You're talking like you expect us to go up against several of them," Crimson quipped, shaking her head at Shellshock's plan. "It still would leave me damn near an Empty if we had to face more than one or two."

"Seems like I wasn't the only one who got put in this little party. Where's Breakout so I can report in?"

Slipstream's arrival briefly broke up the planning session. Crimson looked the flier over as he reported in to DeathStrike. The squad was definitely going to have strong air cover, although so far she and Hornet were the only things they had resembling reconnaissance. The rest were all heavy fighters.

It was an odd mix.

[Charon]

"You're talking like you expect us to go up against several of them," Crimson quipped, shaking her head at Shellshock's plan. "It still would leave me damn near an Empty if we had to face more than one or two."

Shellshock's only response to the quip was simple. His red optics focused on Crimson and he smiled some. "You're not expecting to go up against more than one?" Shellshock grinned at her then looked up as Slipstream walked in, they had good airsupport now, that meant a lot if they were gonna stand a chance in most fights.

"Besides, it's not something we'd expect you to do more than once. Just something to make things a little easier."

[Cynical Cat]

"I understand you are a superior dogfighter," said Deathstrike, "an area where I am deficient. I also understand that you don't have any reservation about killing enemy organics. Both of those qualities will be important in the coming mission."