Transformers: Steel Reign

[General Havoc]

Hornet nodded with what passed for sagacity for him. Even with the explanation though, he still didn't understand why the Decepticons did what they did. If so many of them had turned to the Autobot side, including, it appeared, half the aerialbots in the Autobot army, then why couldn't the rest of them? Why DIDN'T the rest of them.

He had no answer.

He nodded absently back at Blindside, but had no intention certainly of climbing down the mountain. With a soft sigh, he shifted back into airplane form and took off into the air like a rocket, circling down back towards the Ark.

There had to be another way...

[rhoenix]

After seeing Hornet take to the air, Blindside, still in his wolfish form, dove off the side of the mountain. He leapt down from rock to rock with near-dizzying speed, landing upon the ground below with a barely-audible noise only a few seconds after Hornet landed and transformed back.

It was obvious to Blindside that Hornet was troubled by the same thoughts he was having, though for his own view, he was grateful for the company - it helped him to voice what had been boiling away in the depths of his mind for many years.

He was not sure why, but he decided to stay in his wolf form, padding silently into the Ark proper, and walking toward the firing range. This time, he held his head a bit higher, and there was more of a spark in his eyes. Despite the fact that no real conclusions were reached with his talk with Hornet, he did feel much better about his own feelings regarding the humans who called this planet home, and who had been swept into the tide of this war.

As he reached the firing range and entered, still in his wolf form, he heard and then saw that there was an earnest discussion taking place. For the moment, he decided to simply listen, transforming gracefully into his robot form and waiting off to the side.

[B4UTRUST]

"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."

"No, I have no problems with killing humans. Though I don't think our fellow teammates share the same such ease. Their hesitation will hurt us.

"If you're deficent at dogfighting, what are your strengths then?"

[Cynical Cat]

"My engines are powerful and my weapons load and armour are both heavy," answered Deathstrike. "Mass and inertia prevent me from turning quickly, although my linear acceleration is excellent. Interception of high speed vehicles, principly space ships, and heavy ground attack are my vehicle mode combat specialties."

[B4UTRUST]

"I hope you're better at aerial combat then you let on, then. With this many ground pounders and only two for air support this is going to get real rough real quick."

[Cynical Cat]

"I said I'm not built for dogfighting," said Deathstrike. "Dogfights are only one aspect of ariel combat."

[Charon]

"I hope you're better at aerial combat then you let on, then. With this many ground pounders and only two for air support this is going to get real rough real quick."

Shellshock snorted. "Some of these groundpounders have a good record of shooting down seekers. I won't be up there with you but I'll be able to take some of the heat off."

[B4UTRUST]

"I know, dogfighting isn't your specialty. But I'd like to think I'm sensible enough to know that I can't take on the entire Seeker wing by myself. It'd be a bit more reassuring to know that there's someone covering my six when things go wrong.

"And nothing personal Shellshock, I don't want you shooting in my direction when I've got half a dozen of them engaging me in close quarters. The words 'friendly fire' are not something I want written on my repair form under the 'reason for damage' section. If you can take them down before they get that close, go ahead. I've had too many close calls with other 'bots firing in my direction trying to hit the 'con nearby to ever be comfortable with that."

[rhoenix]

Feeling the urge to snap at this Autobot Blindside hadn't been introduced to with a litany of insults, he instead focused on the heartbeat of energon within him to calm himself, and walked with his usual silent steps to his previous place on the firing range to begin target practice with the now-familiar heavy rifle he had used before. He was thankful that he had learned much greater self-control in the past few millennia.

Laying prone as he had been taught earlier, he focused most of his attention on the human Headmaster MiG fighters, the modified human ground troops, and the Seekers above. He wasn't following a fancy mental trick for shooting this time - he was simply picking a target, leading it's motion, and firing.

He was actually somewhat impressed with his progress after the first twenty shots - his hit ratio certainly wasn't as good as the others, but it was a large improvement from before.

[LadyTevar]

Crimson frowned slightly at the tone in Slipstream's voice. His whole attitude just screamed for major adjustment. However that was Deathstrike and BreakOut's department, not hers, Thank Primus.

Still ... Crimson didn't like it, and she wasn't sure she liked him. Somehow, she had the feeling he'd be as much trouble as Hornet. Speaking of which, as she saw the teenybot enter alongside a large metallic animal, her first thought was Primus! Not another 'pet'!

Only when the lupine transformed into Blindside did Crimson fully relax. It explained the claws on his hands and legs, and the odd-colored optics.

[Cynical Cat]

"I've taken on Thundercracker and Blitzwing in the air and put Thundercracker in a CR chamber," said Deathstrike. "I then went on to engage Chimera, Black Ice, Buzzsaw, and Dirge. Does that answer your question? Keep in mind that many of your fellow warriors are experienced at engaging ariel targets and some of them are equipped with ground to air missiles."

[SirNitram]

"If I can interrupt the Seeker talk." Overload rumbled. "Deathstrike, I could use information on the weak-points in Guardian Robots. I'm not precision artillery, but it's possible with Breachload we might be able to soften one up considerably if we know where to hit."

[rhoenix]

"If I can interrupt the Seeker talk." Overload rumbled. "Deathstrike, I could use information on the weak-points in Guardian Robots. I'm not precision artillery, but it's possible with Breachload we might be able to soften one up considerably if we know where to hit."

Upon hearing this, Blindside paused in his shooting and sat up. "I'd like to know as well." He smiled narrowly. "For other reasons."

[LadyTevar]

Well, that was one way to stop a conversation that was starting to go in the wrong direction. Crimson silently thanked Overload for derailing it. "Yes, please... let's get a look since you believe we will be running into one or more of them."

[General Havoc]

Quiet for once in his life, Hornet had re-entered the room alongside Blindside and had said nothing to the discussion that was ongoing. The little bot didn't look up to talking much, indeed the conversation seemed to have dampened his spirits a bit. He slunk over to where Crimson was, and glanced almost furtively up at her and back at Blindside. It was plain that with everyone discussing the imminent annihilation of large swathes of humans, occasionally tossing back references to how there were certain elements in the group that didn't have the strength to do so, combined with the fact that at least two bots whom Hornet believed to hate him were now in charge of him....

... it could be said that Hornet did not have the greatest faith in what was to come.

[LadyTevar]

Crimson put a hand gently on Hornet's shoulder, patting comfortingly so he knew she knew how upset he was. "Breakout's not here yet," she murmured to him. "Just hit the targets like you did practicing, and don't worry about what's said."

[rhoenix]

Keeping his senses keen despite working at the firing range, Blindside opened a private channel with Hornet. "Hey - keep your chin up, Hornet. Remember - don't worry about being better or worse than others, just try to be better than you were."

[General Havoc]

Hornet sniffed softly and tried to smile up at Crimson as she gently patted his shoulder. He didn't do a very good job. Not worrying about what was said was not one of Hornet's strong points. Instead he opted to give her a very quick and light hug around her waist, just as a way of saying thanks. It was a great comfort to know that not everyone here was going to be out to make his life miserable...

... and that not everyone expected him to turn into some kind of mass-killer of humans just to make them happy.

[Cynical Cat]

?Guardian Robots have a number of comparatively vulnerable spots," said Deathstrike. He was not oblivious to the dismay of the Autobots around him, just contemptous of it. They were so afraid of confrontation and so eager to elevate the worth of organics. "Their optics and the general face plate area are comparatively vulnerable. The processor cluster located in the head serves as the primary handler of sensor data and targeting solutions. Combat effectiveness is considerably reduced with its destruction, but the Guardian will still be able to fight.

"The joints are another vulnerable spot. Their design exposes them from a number of angles of attack, especially when they are in motion. They joints are thick and constructed of highest quality armour plate, most of the time, but lack the protection of the Guardian's main armour belt.

"Lastly there is simply shooting them in the chest. Their armour is formidable, but they are large, slow moving, and slow to react to changing situations. Hit them hard enough and the armour can be ablated away or breached."

[B4UTRUST]

"Is it easier to take them from the back? Any particular weakpoints there that would be less risky then a frontal confrontation?"

[SirNitram]

"Fusions cannons or no; getting into a slugging match to simply try and burn through the chest armour strikes me as somewhat suicidal. And while you may be able to make passes to hit the torso armour, we can't." Overload rumbled. "Joints and face it is. And preferrably confusing them."

[rhoenix]

Pausing at hearing the revelations about the huge Guardians from Deathstrike, Blindside looked up. "How resistant is the Guardian's chest armor against cutting or piercing?"

As Deathstrike had been going over the weaknesses of the giant Guardians, Blindside was constructing an anatomical map of their forms, careful to view it from all angles and perceptions.

Though he still was disturbed by the thought, he knew from hearing the others that the human-based troops would be used as primary fodder, with the larger and more capable Decepticon troops, including the fearsome Guardians, as the heavy firepower. He needed to know how to assault each.

[Cynical Cat]

"Guardians use the densist and toughest grade of Cybertronian armour," said Deathstrike. "It is extremely resistant to all forms of damage. For blowing through the torso armour, the back being as strong as the front, massed firepower is usually the best way. For example, an attack run conducted by myself followed up by ordanance launch by Skyshadow while Stryke and Shellshock unleash heavy cannon and missile fire."

[LadyTevar]

Crimson rubbed Hornet's head as he gave her the quick hug, but said nothing, more interested in hearing what DeathStrike had to say about Guardians.

The news was rather grim, to her mind. Her grenades might lock up a joint lock enough for the Guardian to fall over, but it was still going to take the heaviest of their hitters to put them down. And they had yet to tell her who'd be volunteering to re-energize her once she fired off the grenades.

[rhoenix]

As he stared further and further upward to behold the full height of a Guardian, Blindside simply shook his head in wonder. After a few moments of looking at the huge feat of Cybertronian war engineering, he turned his attention back to the vast simulated army, and began to pick off the modified Terran Headmaster MiG's, the modified Terran ground troops, and the other, less-maneuverable troops secondarily.

With each shot, he'd try something new, and compare it to previous times, constantly forcing himself to try to do better. Adjusting his grip a bit upward, to being more gentle when squeezing the trigger, to adjusting how he lead his target using the targeting reticle on his rifle to recreate his own targeting programs; many things, no matter how subtle or overt were tried to see if they improved his accuracy.

The look his face was determined, and alert. Let Deathstrike and the other flyer talk scornfully about the compassion for others they themselves did not understand. Though he would try to protect the free members of humanity, he was aware that humans chose their sides to fight on just as the Cybertronians do, and he had chosen his side. He would fight to make sure that the sights above the Ark he beheld tonight would still be there. To see an end to this war, to see an end to Megatron and his mad obsession with finding something he already had. To perhaps see Shadow's smile once more. To not have to explain to Autobots as young as Hornet why some Cybertronians liked killing, destroying, or enslaving.