Transformers: Steel Reign

[LadyTevar]

She chuckled, stepping out of Stryke's embrace to walk down the hallway in front of him. "You just want to see my fender swing," Crimson teased.

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke laughed. "Guilty as charged." He said.

[LadyTevar]

"Just make sure you can keep up, slowpoke," Crimson chuckled, wiggling her rear a little teasingly. "You don't want to get left behind...."

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke followed close behind her. "You wouldn't leave me behind." He said.

[LadyTevar]

Well... he had her there. "You're right..." Crimson admitted, looking up at him lovingly before a wicked grin crossed her face. "But I would run circles around you."

[B4UTRUST]

Slipstream sat outside more or less where the others had left him. Though sitting was subjective as he was currently in his aircraft form. Anywhere else, this might look odd and out of place, a lone aircraft sitting in front of a mountain. But considering the aircraft was a giant alien multi-million year old robotic lifeform from another world, odd was actually the norm.

He hadn't been wasting his time. It wasn't spent with introspective looks into his actions. He didn't give a damn about what had happened. If it got him kicked off out of this, as the humans termed it, 'chickenshit outfit.' He thought that was the right term but the humans' had so many different languages with so many different dialects and slang terms it was hard to be sure.

Instead it was spent running high-end mapping of the local area with topographic and terrain mapping functions, comparing them to the ones taken earlier from above. There was significant differences, enough that he had to create map overlays and filters to keep track of them all. No wonder the groundpounders had such skewed views, having to look up instead of down in situations.

When he picked up approaching signatures from near the entrance to the Ark he ignored them.

[rhoenix]

Just finishing his Alloyed Tiger combat movement set, Blindside heard the flirting between Stryke and Crimson far below where he stood in wide stance, the proximity of their voices indicating they were nearing the entrance, but still some distance behind Hornet.

Blindside felt somewhat trapped, as he really didn't want to leave the beautiful scenery that surrounded him, but being an unwilling eavesdropper to Styke and Crimson's flirting made him feel somewhat uncomfortable.

Changing gracefully into his wolf form, he lay down on his stomach, his paws crossed in front of him, upon which his chin rested. His golden eyes stared at Earth's moon Luna, reflecting the light of the star Sol softly, framed by the sight of the distant forest of evergreen trees. Despite his much more acute senses in his wolf form allowing him to actually hear the conversation of Stryke and Crimson despite their distance, he ignored them as he let his mind drift, feeling somewhat surprised (but not overmuch) as his thoughts drifted to Shadow.

In the days he knew her, he was Firetrack. Then, he was obtuse, oblivious, a loudmouth, and obnoxious with a low self-esteem. He remembered wryly that he made up for his low opinion of himself by doing stunts that were in retrospect, rather dangerous and stupid, trying to be noticed by others. He had been oblivious to the things that truly mattered in one's life at the time. His anvil-handed flirting with her somehow eventually began a relationship between the two. So how in the name of Primus did he manage to end up with Shadow, even for a few brief months before his life changed completely?

She was a quiet, shy, demurely beautiful Autobot who loved to fly. In fact, she felt more comfortable in the air, losing most of her shyness and feeling of being ill at ease with herself, which all quickly returned every time once she made landfall. They knew each other at a distance for a few years before Hot Rod gave him a few well-timed pieces of advice alternating with kicks to the fender to give her metal roses. The Cybertronian gardens did have plant life, but not like Terra. Not caring as much then, he left wide tiremarks in the grass of the gardens, as he more or less drove right through the garden looking for the roses to pick and give to her. He then tracked her down, and yelling up at her for a few breems to get her attention, he almost collided with her when she finally landed and somewhat annoyed, asked him what was so important. Blindside smiled to himself - he at least managed to summon the courage to give her the roses.

He looked forlorn, staring off into the distance. He had been reported dead many vorn ago, leaving on an unplanned journey that ended up taking him right where he needed to go, so he could become who he needed to be, even with the horrors he had encountered in Shockwave's lab that changed him so dramatically, those many vorn ago. Where was Shadow now? How was she? Would she even recognize him? Would they, could they feel the same way about one another again, with the changing hands of time that had molded both of them?

Deciding to shake himself from his reverie, he let his mind empty. Being back amongst his kind again, being back amongst the Autobots had allowed many things within him to be remembered, but that doesn't mean he should forget what he had learned since he had last been with them.

[General Havoc]

Hornet didn't notice that anyone was following him. He likely wouldn't have noticed if they actually walked into him. His processor was running rings throughout his chest and head, and he felt like he was liable to have a meltdown at any moment. Still he trudged on ahead, walking up slowly towards Slipstream, whom he saw sitting near the entrance to the Ark.

"S... Slip... stream?" he asked nervously. "Can... we talk for a second?"

[B4UTRUST]

Slipstream remained silent for a moment before replying in a dull monotone.
"Technically, I think we can. You've spoken for more then a second. I've spoken for more then a second. I see no reason that should infringe in the our ability to speak for a second. Is there another question? Because if it requires a lengthy conversation to discuss, I would prefer it away from the two following closely behind you and the individual moving around above us. Looks like Crimson and Stryke coming up from the Ark and can't tell the form of the one above us. He's stopped moving and is watching something. Too much thermal discrepancies around him to tell who it is."

[Cynical Cat]

Deathstrike considered the situation. Slipstream was either a monumental glitch up or a Decepticon. If Thundercracker's defection was legitimate, there had to be something unpleasant and chaotic occurring within the Decepticon ranks. No one jump sides to the one that was losing and outnumbered four to one without very good reasons. And if his defection wasn't legitimate, why was anyone bothering with this time wasting effort? Why not just start winning the war with superior numbers.

It was a vexing conundrum. He wanted to hurt something. Very badly.

[General Havoc]

Had Hornet bothered to check his IFF signal map, he would have known that Stryke and Crimson were following him, but to be frank, doing so had not entered his head. He did so now, and saw their proximity, which surprised him, but he did not accede to Slipstream's request.

"Is that so you can tear my spark out and eat it?" he asked as deadpan as he could, staring up at the larger Slipstream. "Like you said you were gonna?"

"I just... I just wanted to... to talk..."

[B4UTRUST]

Slipstream transformed, towering over the smaller autobot. He crossed his arms, glancing down at Hornet. His voice maintained its monotone.
"I have not prevented you from talking, Hornet. However, I am not obligated to indulge your discussion in this location. I tire of being on the ground.

"Therefore," started Slipstream, rising upwards slowly enough that Hornet could follow if he chose to. "I am moving somewhere else. Besides, if you wish an honest conversation, it won't be with an active audience to participate and influence the outcome. That, Hornet, would be cheating you out of your moment."

[General Havoc]

Hornet sighed and glanced back at Crimson and Stryke, hoping to Primus that this wasn't one of the worst ideas he had ever had. He shifted into airplane form and followed Slipstream up into the sky, making sure to keep Slipstream ahead of him, and a good view of the others' IFF signals. He was still expecting a missile to be fired in his direction.

"So are you gonna try and take me somewhere and blow me up?" he asked directly.

[B4UTRUST]

Slipstream had not transformed, preferring for the moment to simply float through the air. He glanced over his shoulder back at Hornet before turning over so he appeared to be lying almost on his back, though it was still at an upward angle.
"Of course I'm not going to blow you up," Slipstream stated flatly.
"Is that all you came out here for? To find out if I ws going to kill you?"

[LadyTevar]

Crimson watched as Hornet followed Slipstream up into the air. "Well.... Pits." The teenybot was on his own now. She looked up to Stryke and sighed "So ... how long do you think we have before Hornet comes back needing a hug and an audio circuit to listen in?"

[General Havoc]

Hornet was done getting called stupid by Slipstream. In the air he had a chance of evading if the Aerialbot decided to come around spontaneously and fire a missile at him or try and teach him another lesson about how the world was a painful place by shooting him down or colliding with him, and all he would need to do would be to fly back down into the Ark.

"Of course I came here to find that out!" he said, frustrated and scared. "You said you were gonna rip my spark out and eat it, and that I had better hide from you or you'd kill me. You said that over the radio, and then when Deathstrike told you to stop, you said it to me in a private channel. So how am I supposed to know if you meant it or not? Because you sure sounded like you did!"

He kept his distance, weaving back and forth slowly, his afterburners ready in case there was a sudden need to dive.

"How come you hate me so much?" he asked after a while. "How come you always have to do this to me? You told Wheeljack he was evil for building me in the first place. You told me I should have been angry with Wheeljack for being built like I was, and when I said I wasn't angry, you got mad and stormed off. You treat the humans like dirt, and you treat me like dirt because I like the humans, and now you go out of your way to try and scare me or threaten me or maybe even kill me if you got the chance? What do you want with me, Slipstream?!"

[B4UTRUST]

"You are not suppose to know if I meant it or not. That was the point of that exercise."

Slipstream would have smirked, had he possessed the faceplate to do so.
"Now you are making broad assumptions on the reasons for my actions based on what? What you feel? What you have seen? What you know of me?

"I dislike humans because they are an absolutely inferior species. As for treating them like dirt, it's not far from what they are. Is that what you want to know? That I do not like the humans because they are inferior and yet have somehow destroyed the logical processes of otherwise right-thinking bots.

"And your misplaced idea that I abhor you is based on that I am angry with Wheeljack over your creation and because you yourself are so like your vaunted humans. Quick biology lesson, Hornet. You are not a human, never have been and never will be. Not counting the possibility of dying during this war, which is a high possibility for everyone, you will live for millions of their years. Every human you know will be dead in maybe one hundred of their years. You are a Cybertronian and cannot be anything else.

"I did not go out of my way to scare you or threaten you. Out of my way to threaten you would be flying all the way from Cybertron to do so. I scared you to accomplish the objective my mission. Since I could not see you from the air and you are smaller and therefore capable of hiding in smaller spaces then most other 'bots, I used an alternate method to inspire you to move. I believe the term your humans use is psychological warfare. A method of unconventional warfare designed not to destroy the military forces of your enemy but to manipulate them mentally, spiritually and emotionally to influence their actions and thoughts.

"From the looks and sounds of it, I have succeeded beyond my expectations. Do you understand now?

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke shook his head. "I think he'll be fine." Stryke said. "Besides, Hornet could do with a bit of toughening up." He said. The warbot then looked down at her. "So, want to go for that drive?" He asked. "And if Hornet needs us, all he'll need to do is fly down to us."

[LadyTevar]

The toughening up line got him a dirty look, but Crimson knew Stryke was right. "Why do people think he needs toughening up, when he's shot at Sixshot and survived, took out three of those formated humans by himself while wounded, and even now is facing down the very 'Bot who threatened to tear out his Spark and eat it?" she had to ask before transforming into her sleek motorcycle alt-form.

The holo-Rider didn't have her helmet on, and so she could easily grin up at Stryke's face. "Catch me if you can, big bot..." she taunted as the Harley engine roared to full life. Gravel flying, the full-throated engine (loud enough to echo) sent her flying down the road.

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke sighed. "Maybe not the best thing to say." He muttered to himself before transforming and taking off after her, his holo-gunner standing behind the machine gun of his alt-form.

[rhoenix]

As Blindside was still laying on his stomach in his wolf alt-mode, he was listening idly to the conversation carried on the wind between Hornet and Slipstream. At least, a part of his mind was listening and analyzing - the rest of his consciousness was staring into the reflected light of the moon hanging quietly in the sky, trying not to think much about Shadow.

He heard Stryke and Crimson's conversation, but didn't pay it much attention - at least until the loud motorcycle roar from her alt-mode bombarded Blindside's very acute senses in this form. He jumped up and winced simultaneously from the sudden noise. He at first wondered what the horribly loud and painful noise was, quickly shifting into his robot form to lessen the painful noise. He finished just as the noise lessened, which made him frown. Walking to the edge of the mountain and looking down, he saw Crimson and Stryke beginning their drive together, and Blindside suddenly decided he did not want to overhear any part of this.

Deciding to chance any sudden overloading of his audio sensors, he changed liquidly into his wolf form again, and began his descent down the mountain, at a speed even faster than he normally would attempt it, helping gravity out by leaping downwards with each landing. Soon enough, he landed, glaring at Crimson in the distance for deafening him.

A smile slowly grew on his lupine face as he decided to give into an impulse. He began to run after them, and abandoning all capabilities of stealth ran at full speed in this form to catch up to them.

He noticed that they were playing tag, as Autobot couples do, which made Blindside show his gleaming and sharp teeth in a feral grin at what he was about to do. Stalking them until they were next to one another again, he ran at a full sprint until he was right behind them. Crimson's holo-rider looked behind her to reflect her senses noticing Blindside rapidly gaining on them, but it wasn't fast enough to do anything. Leaping over both of them in a high and long jump, Blindside turned into his powerful Reventon form before he landed, revving his powerful motor in a loud roar directly in front of them before taking off with the screech of suddenly-spinning tires.

He only drove a few miles, but since he was nearly going 300 mph, it didn't take long. Circling back around the mountain of the Ark, he sent a private communique to both Crimson and Stryke. "That was payback for Crimson nearly deafening me. Now, I'll leave you to enjoy your evening."

The chuckle at the end of the transmission was obvious.

[Agent Fisher]

Stryke's holorider glared as Blindside peeled off. He looked to his side at Crimson. "Can I shoot him?" He asked, the cannon on his alt-form swinging to aim at him.

[LadyTevar]

"If I say yes, do you think we'd get in trouble for it?" Crimson answered, her optics narrowing. "If I had any doubts that Blindside was Firetrack before, they're gone now. Only Firetrack would pull that stupid of a stunt."

[Agent Fisher]

"We could hide him, I'm sure the other's wouldn't find him." He said.

[LadyTevar]

"Only if we can do that to Slipstream as well," Crimson muttered. "I trust Deathstrike more when it comes to covering my back." As she spoke, her hands ran over his Alt-mode's lines, over the hood, up the driver's compartment, along his sides. "BreakOut seems very serious about his duties as leader."