[New RPG] A House Divided: Kaon (Decepticon)

[Heinrad]

Loading Bay:

"No guns on this thing, Rapido. I grabbed one of their cargo shuttles." Tracks pulled back from the shuttle's loading hatch. "I'm on it, Jazz!" He ran back to the shuttle's cockpit and dropped into the pilot's seat, switching the engines from standby to full activation.

Hot Rod, for his part, dove for cover behind a stack of crates. "Hope you've got something big enough to slow him down!"

[Springer85]

Loading Bay, Shuttle

"Copy that, Tracks," Jazz responded. "Take off in one cycle!"

Jazz nodded in response to Hot Rod. "I do, but I would rather not use it," he replied. "It's a last resort weapon and there's no telling what it'll do."

Meanwhile, Magnus was waking up from being knocked out by Topspin. He was still in a state of insanity and as soon as he realized that he was strapped in a restraining harness, he started to try and fight his way out of it. "More! I need more!" he screamed as he violently struggled to try and break out of the harness. "Let me go! LET ME GO!" With remnants of Dark Energon still present in his body, there was not telling what would happen.

Grimlock then made it to the Loading Dock and Jazz saw him flying at Megatron who was in his way. "Good. Grimlock is here! Get ready for departure everyone," he said as he walked up to Magnus.

"I'm sorry buddy, but right now your condition is a creating a liability to this mission," he said as he hit Magnus over the head with the back end of his rifle. "Let's hope these hits to your head aren't causing any more damage. Hytherion, see if you can put him in stasis or at least keep him calm."

Jazz then walked back to the shuttle’s exit, waiting for Grimlock to get in so that they can take off.

_____________________________

Governor's Palace

"Afraid not," Triggerhappy replied to Black Shadow. "This is as real as it gets. Kinda makes you wish you stayed in prison. Smalltime crooks like us don't stand a chance against military class mechs. What were we thinking?"

Triggerhappy tried to help Black Shadow up on his feet. "Let's see if we can get you fixed up. If anything, we'll probably get blamed for wrecking this place and I want to be out of sight when the blame giving starts."

[Warcry]

Governor's Palace

Lugnut glowered at Grimlock, but before he could do anything more than that the Autobot -- he supposed the other ex-gladiator was one of them now -- had broken off their fight, charging toward the loading dock and the Autobots' escape shuttle.

"Yeah, you run!" Lugnut barked in the assumption that he'd chased his foe off, shaking one massive fist threateningly.
________________________________________

Black Shadow let out a low groan. "I never thought I'd say I missed jail..."

He slowly sat up, then let Triggerhappy haul him up to his feet. His legs immediately turned to jelly, but he grabbed hold of a wall-mounted shelf to hold himself up.

"Thanks fer the hand. And yeah, gettin' outta here is a great idea. You know where the docs are in this place?"
________________________________________

Loading Bay

As Grimlock charged into the room, Megatron felt the satisfying thrummm that indicated his fusion cannon was now fully charged. He swung toward the massive Autobot, milliseconds ticking by with excruciating slowness as he raced, his repulsors against the Autobot's foot speed, to see whether fist or cannon would be in position to strike first.

The cannon won.

Megatron's fusion cannon roared, blasting purple nuclear death at Grimlock's chest from point-blank range.
________________________________________

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

"No," Predacon told Scorponok, struggling to keep a straight face. "You extra-larges aren't people. What you want doesn't matter, and you should shut your mouths and be happy that we normals let you share our planet." He mock-glared. "And you have no sense of style! A head-flail isn't a weapon, it's a fashion accessory that shows your enemies what'll happen if they don't get out of your way."

He huffed. "I bet you Tarannie understands..."

To Obsidian he said, "That's what the science is for. Find out what makes them tick, and you find out how to give their strengths to other troops without all the weaknesses."
________________________________________

Invasion Zone

"I almost hesitate to ask," Hammer said to Sixshot, "but what do you do for fun when you're not fighting? You must have some outside interests."

[Blackjack]

Loading Bay

Grimlock's optics widened as Megatron's cannon swung towards him. There was no way to change his arc of jump, there was no way to move out of the way...

The gladiator reflexively moved both arms towards his chest...

And the fusion cannon tore through both hands and the chest, the purple burst of energy drilling a neat hole through Grimlock's body, as well as the wall and crates behind him.

Grimlock's optics flickered before he fell, the force of the cannon throwing him away, and crumpled onto the ground, a huge hole slightly off-center in his chest, whereas the entire lower halves of his arms lay strewn on the floor.
________________________________________

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

Scorponok sighed. "Predacon, you're directing your racism towards the wrong size. Extra-larges are people. It's the extra-smalls that are a burden on our race. Damn Minicons, crawling everywhere like vermin. Ginrai's the only Minicon I like, and I created him! Who knows where he's gotten to."
________________________________________

Invasion Zone

"I leave that to your department, then." Obsidian replied to Predacon, before turning to Hunter. "Well, Hunter? So long as you pledge allegiance to Megatron -- and submit one of your... curious troops for scientific observation -- I do believe we can work together."
________________________________________

Sixshot frowned.

"I was brought online slightly less than twenty hours ago. I do not have done anything other than my primary function of destruction... or awaiting for the next opportunity to do so."

[Springer85]

Loading Bay, Shuttle

"Grimlock!" Jazz was shocked by Megatron's fusion canon blast tearing right through Grimlock. Even though his arms were damaged he instinctively retracted and in its place came his wrist-mounted grappling hook and shot it at Grimlock, managing to hook itself in the hole Megatron just created in the large mech. Jazz started to pull him in as quick as he could, hoping he wouldn't cause even more damage than he had already sustained.

"We're not going to leave you behind, buddy," Jazz said. "Topspin! Hot Rod! Help me pull him in," he shouted. "Tracks! Now's a good time for us to leave!"

_________________________

Governor's Palace

"Got no clue," Triggerhappy replied to Black Shadow, while dragging him around the place. "I feel like I’ve been here only for 5 kliks and already I've been shot at and hit in the face more often than when I was in jail."

_________________________

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

Tarantulas watched the banter between Scorponok and Predacon. He didn't feel like participating. He thought it was beneath him though he did agree with Predacon on one thing. "Yes, the heads on a pike in the middle of the city would make a nice display," he said to no one in particular. "The sight alone of seeing their leaders fallen will instill fear and hopelessness. Both very useful in times of war," he continued and giggled after it.

[Blackjack]

Loading Bay, Shuttle

Jazz's cable hooked itself inside the mechanical rivets inside the hole that was Grimlock's chest, embedding into the mechanical workings inside. It probably punctured something, but considering the massive hole in Grimlock's chest, it's the least of Grimlock's worries.

Grimlock's spark chamber hang limply from beside the hole, the fusion blast miraculously missing the chamber itself although half of the connections leading to it had been severed. Energon was bleeding out uncontrollably from the pipes in his chest, as well as out of the stumps that used to be his arms.

Grimlock's head and limbs were slumped, devoid of any signs of life. He was dragged unceremoniously like a ragdoll, scooting along on his buttocks as Jazz reeled him in.
_________________________

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

"See? Tarantulas agrees with me." Scorponok told Predacon. "The heads on a pike are very useful. Removing heads is therapeutic. I think I just found myself a new hobby."

[Chip1123]

(OOC: Wow... didn't see that one coming...)

Topspin jumped over to Jazz and grabbed a hold of the line, pulling it in as fast as he could. It would only take a moment to pull him in, and Megatron's cannon shouldn't charge back up in that amount of time. He hoped so anyways.

Rapido jumped into the copilot seat (OOC: I'm assuming it is big enough for 2 pilots - if not, I'll change the post). "Let's go Tracks. Time to get out of here as quick as possible!" Thinking ahead, he sent a set of coordinates to Electro. "Best place to meet up is the following coordinates. Think you can make it there? We have some injured with us and can't risk the Decepticons catching us, so we won't have long to wait on you."

[Springer85]

Shuttle

"Thanks, Topspin," Jazz said to the larger mech who helped him pull Grimlock in. Closing the shuttle doors and switching his grappling hook back to his hand, Jazz dragged Grimlock over to the side of the shuttle and secured him the best way he could.

"Hang on in there, buddy," he said as he was inspecting Grimlock's wounds. It didn't look very good and Jazz was worried that he might not even make it to Iacon. "We'll get you the best help we can get back home."

Jazz got up on his feet and sat down in the nearest chair. "Rapido! Tracks! Let's get out of here. Everybody else, strap yourselves in. We're going home." Jazz contacted Volks back at the War Academy in Iacon.

"This is Jazz calling Volks. We've got Magnus and we're on our way home. Make sure the medical teams are ready to receive Grimlock and Magnus. Both have sustained severe amount damage. I'm not a medic, but their condition is pretty critical. There's another guy with us that's in stasis lock. Don't know what's wrong with him, but he's been non-responsive for a while now. No I.D. on him either."

Overhearing Rapido talking over the com to Electro, Jazz looked up. "We'll have to throw down a rope for him to climb or use a tractor beam if we have one, because I don't want to risk getting blown out of the sky by any Decepticons."

[Warcry]

Governor's Palace

Black Shadow groaned. "Maybe look for a, uh, map or something?" he suggested to Triggerhappy. "Ain't gonna leak to death in a hallway. It'd be embarrassing!"
________________________________________

Loading Bay

Megatron let out a small grunt of satisfaction as his fusion cannon felled Grimlock with a single shot.

Impressive, he thought to himself. I'll have to thank Deathsaurus for that when I see him next.

He made no attempt to stop the fleeing Autobots, content that they would take word of his immense power and army back to Iacon with them along with the tainted Magnus.
________________________________________

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

"There's two things wrong with that, Scorpy," Predacon told his compatriot. "First of all, I assure you, Minicons are vermin too. Secondly, I'm not being racist, I'm being sizist. Functionist at best. Thirdly, removing heads should come naturally since you've got scissors for hands."

After Obsidian signed off, he looked between his two comrades and asked, "Either of you ever dissect a zombie before, or are we gonna have an adventure on our hands?"
________________________________________

Invasion Zone

Hammer frowned. "Oh. Well, uh...we're in the same boat, actually," he told Sixshot. "Nobody thought to program 'recreation' into our startup code, I guess. Would you like to try and find something fun?"

"Oh, oh!" Brick was practically jumping up and down with eagerness. "I have an idea!"

"Oh? Let's hear it."

"We captured a few Autobots," Brick said. "We could, you know, make 'em fight to the death for entertainment or somethin'."

[Blackjack]

Shuttle

If Grimlock felt anything as Jazz and Topspin reeled him in, he did not show it. The giant ex-Decepticon did not so much as make an indication that's he's still alive, other than the faint glow of the slightly-ruptured laser core within his chest.
_______________________________________

"Jazz, this is Prowl." Prowl would reply, "Great work. I will have Ratchet's medical team ready. Do not keep your optics off Magnus, Grimlock, or the unknown Cybertronian. We don't know what the Decepticons did to them. I shall debrief you as soon as you arrive."
_______________________________________

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

Scorponok made a sound that was equal parts chuckle and growl. "Never liked Minicons. It's a good thing their role in the Senate has been growing more and more diminished somewhat over the years."

Scorponok clacked his giant shovel-like claws together. "These aren't scissors. These are giant claws that are designed more to pulverize heads than to cut them off. Maybe an upgrade is in order... looking at Sixshot move is certainly inspiring."

The scientist chuckled as Predacon mentioned zombie dissection. "Well, I can only speak for myself, of course, but the closest I've gotten to dissecting a zombie is when I was experimenting with Spark Cores and deactivation and stuff. Nowhere near as sophisticated as the ones hoverboy showed us."
________________________________________

Invasion Zone

"We are bred to be soldiers." Sixshot told Hammer. "And I don't entirely comprehend the concept of 'fun', although I do understand 'boredom'."

"I cannot say I am delighted by this suggestion, Brick. Having them fight each other feels..."

What? Wrong? Not exactly, they're going to die anyway.

Inefficient? Definitely not, they're not wasting ammunition.

"Dishonorable." Sixshot said after a short pause. "I personally find it detestable... though I really cannot explain why. I have no trouble with executing them, but to have them partake in that form of exercise... no offense... brother Brick."

Brother.

[TLB80]

Some random Kaon street

Electro received the coordinates. "Okay." he said to Rapido. "Assuming I'm reading these right, I'll be waiting for you. That, or I'll be a hundred miles away, in front of a 'Con firing squad. Over and out." He transformed, and sped off to the location indicated.

[Springer85]

Shuttle

"Copy that, Prowl," Jazz replied over the secure line.

When everybody was secure in their seats, Jazz ran up to the cockpit, flicked a few switches and pulled the control wheel to launch the shuttle.

"Electro," Jazz said over the introcom. "We'll be flying over the coordinates in a few kliks. I'm droppign the grappling hook right now! Grab on to it so we can pull you in!"

(ooc: next stop: Iacon!)


________________

Governor's Palace


"Don't worry," Triggerhappy replied to Black Shadow. "Not gonna happen. I'll get you fixed up in no time.

Triggerhappy looked around. "You! Hey you random Vehicon guy. Point me to the nearest medbay or something will ya? Got a leaking mech here that's in need of help.

The Vehicon pointed towards a location not too far from where they were right now. "Almost there, buddy. Hang on."

[TLB80]

(OOC: I'm gonna skip ahead those few kliks.....I assume that's okay! )

Some random Kaon street

Electro looked up at the sky. Sure enough, the shuttle was coming. He ran towards and grabbed the grappling hook, holding on for dear life as it yanked him off the ground.

[Warcry]

Governor's Palace

"Thanks," Black Shadow muttered to Triggerhappy. "I'd do the same for you, Trig."

That was a blatant lie, of course -- if Black Shadow had been functional he would have fled the palace through the first exit he could find and run as far away from these "Decepticons" as he possibly could, no matter what shape his allies were in. There was no reason Triggerhappy needed to know that.

After hobbling along with Triggerhappy in the direction the Vehicon had indicated for a few minutes, Black Shadow eventually found himself in a medical bay staffed by a gang of green and purple technical staff. One of them pointed toward a surgical bed, which the gangster gladly hobbled towards and collapsed onto.
________________________________________

Once the Autobots had cleared out, Megatron dropped all pretense of intensity as he returned to robot mode. Leaving the loading bay, he walked back into the hall.

"That went well," he said to nobody in particular. "Soundwave, track their shuttle and make sure it leaves our airspace promptly. If they delay, send a squadron of air Vehicons to change their mind."

"As you command."

"Clench, if you're still alive, come here."

Then, turning back on his comlink, "Obsidian, assign your least-useful troops for mop-up duty, then assemble the rest of your force on the north edge of the city. We have the Autobots on the back foot, and I intend to press the assault before they have a chance to regroup."
________________________________________

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

"Yes, well, we'll have plenty of time to learn," Predacon told Scorponok. "But for now...we're done here. Everybody out!"

As he barked the command, Vehicons headed for the exit at double-time.

"I had them wire the place with demo charges," he told his partners, "so we'd better leg it. Figured it'd show the rest of the Autobots' academics what we think of them, torching one of their 'top' schools like this." He grinned. "Plus, you know, burning stuff is always fun."
________________________________________

Invasion Zone

Hammer couldn't help but agree with Sixshot. "It does seem to be a bit over the line," he agreed. "Brick, round up some of the troops, line the Autobots up against a wall and shoot them."

Brick was visibly crestfallen. "Aw, you're no fun, boss." But he recovered quickly. "But at least I get to hurt them, so it's not a complete loss." Thus buoyed, he went off to find some of his fellow Vehicons.

"Simple minds..." Hammer said once he was out of earshot, shaking his head with disappointment.

[Springer85]

Praxus Airspace

Jazz pulled Electro in. "Welcome aboard Electro. Good to see you're still functioning. We'll talk later about where you disappeared to and why you didn't follow orders."

As the shuttle left Kaon airspace, it flew high over Polyhex and crossed the border with Praxus. Jazz's optics widened and for a very brief moment an expression on disbelief showed on his face, although he hid it quickly enough before others could see. Praxus was completely leveled and the purple mechs that occupied the Governor's Palace were even greater in numbers down there. Praxus' citizens stood no chance and the still functioning Autobots that were trying to defend the city were hopelessly outmatched and brutally murdered. Jazz wanted to help them, but the mission took priority. Besides, it would be pure suicide to go down there and fight.

Nearing the Tagan Heights, Jazz punched in his security clearances while he was flying over them. “Almost home, people," he said to the others. "Hang on and get ready to help these guys towards the med bay ASAP," he added while pointing to Grimlock, Magnus and Springer. "Keep an optic out for the green one. Don't know him, so I don't trust him. Don’t care if he saved me. "

Jazz then contacted the War Academy. "This is Jazz contacting Iacon War Academy. Get the medics ready and prep them for 2 critically injured mechs that are in dire need of surgery. Grimlock's leaking energon faster than Blurr can run. Magnus is going to have to be restrained or something. He woke up earlier from being knocked out and got violent. He's in a restraining harness right now, but I don't know how long it'll hold. ETA is ten cycles."

[Blackjack]

Praxus

"By your will, Governor." Obsidian replied to Megatron. "It shall be done."

Opening a commlink to the troops still in the city, "This is Obsidian. We are victorious. Praxus is ours. Vehicon Squads Seventeen, nineteen, twenty-six and thirty-seven, remain in Praxus for clean-up. Vehicon squad forty-three through forty-seven, form a perimeter. No one without a Decepticon insignia gets out of Praxus. Zero, send Puzzler and his team to supervise the clean-up."

"Thrust, Predacon, Scorponok, Tarantulas, Onslaught, Sixshot, Hammer, Zero, Igern and all other troops, assemble on Kaon's north. We have been summoned by Megatron." Obsidian opened a general comm. Then he turned to Hunter. "If you would join Megatron's Decepticons, then, by all means, have your troops follow me."
________________________________________

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

Scorponok laughed as he walked out, his head fitting perfectly in the hole he just made. "Pity. I thought it'd make a good storage house for illicit goods and stuff. Oh well, I'll always have the Acid Wastes..."

The large Decepticon received Obsidian's message and sighed. "Seemed your brother wants to press the invasion of Cybertron forward. I like him."
________________________________________

Invasion Zone

Sixshot frowned. He found that he wasn't too comfortable with the idea of executing helpless Autobots, but since that was similar enough if they were pitted against him in battle, he decided to let Brick execute them.

"Thank you." He told Hammer, then frowned again. That felt... different.

The sixchanger shook his head.

This is confusing.

[Springer85]

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

Tarantulas giggled. "Yes indeed," he said to Predacon when he mentioned the pleasure of torching things. "Nobody is going to miss this pit full excuse of a school anyway," he added as he exited the building.

Tarantulas looked up at Scorponok and nodded. "Yes, it would seem so." Tarantulas started giggling and rubbed his hands. "Can't wait to get to Iacon. Such a fun place to test out our new toys. Not to mention that they're harboring Wheeljack there. He needs to be expunged from existence," he spat.

[Blackjack]

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

"Your obsession with Wheeljack is rather disturbing, Tarantulas." Scorponok laughed. "Then again, I expect nothing less from you. Make the hunt an entertaining one!"

[Chip1123]

Thrust smiled as Obsidian's communication came in. "Just finished repairing from a scrap with a particularly nasty Autobot jet. I'll be there shortly." He said in reply to the General. Thrust rose into the air, transforming once he was a few meters up, and shot into the sky.

-----------

Governor's Palace

Clench cringed inwardly as Megatron's message came in. He wasn't sure what mood Megatron was in, and wasn't sure what to expect. "Just dented and dazed from a grenade, Lord Megatron, but still functional. I'll be there momentarily."

[Warcry]

Governor's Palace

Black Shadow lay there as the Decepticons' medical team repaired his wounds, more wounds than he'd collected in a lifetime of gangsterism and thuggery combined. As the techs and their machines worked on him, a cold certainty settled on the escaped prisoner -- if he stayed, the Decepticons were going to be the death of him.

He lost track of how long he'd lain there, but eventually, miraculously, the surgery was finally over. Triggerhappy had left during the process, something that Black Shadow was ashamed to be happy about -- what he was planning to do would have been way, way harder if he'd had a friend waiting for him.

Getting up off the table, he thanked the medics and left the room. He was still a bit lost moving around the palace, but that wouldn't be a problem for very long. He was leaving, and he wasn't coming back.

A few minutes and several wrong turns later, Black Shadow had found his way to the palace's roof. He looked out at the city, imagining that he could see beyond it, to the chaos and destruction that Megatron's mad quest was bringing to his homeworld.

There'll be a lot of opportunities out there for a mech like me, he thought to himself. Then he reached up to his chest and pulled off his Decepticon badge. Staring down at it, he whispered, "Thanks for the breakout, guys, but this ain't my game."

The black and red jet rocketed away from the palace, leaving a crumpled ball of purple metal sitting on the roof where he'd stood only moments before.
________________________________________

"I never had any doubts," Megatron told Obsidian. "Prepare your forces for a frontal assault, but don't launch until you have my order. Megatron out."

The Decepticon leader had no doubt that Obsidian would be confused by his instructions, which at face value would sound like instructions for suicide. But he also knew that the general would follow them, because having picked his side he would put his trust in Megatron's judgment.

Still, I look forward to seeing his reaction when he sees the other half of my plan...

Responding to Clench, he said, "Good. I'll be in the situation room, evaluating the other fronts in our war effort."

Megatron was clearly indifferent to the injuries his former rival had suffered.

Even as he spoke, he entered the situation room. It seemed to be an empty white room, but once it sensed his presence the lights grew dim. Moments later it was bright again as the integrated holoprojectors came to life and filled the chamber with a floating, three-dimensional map of Cybertron and it's solar system. Each of the city-states, moons, outposts and orbital habitats was shaded in with colour -- purple for Decepticon, red for Autobot and green for neutral. The purple had, he was happy to see, advanced significantly in the last few hours. Praxus, which had previously been a solid red, was now under his control.

But Praxus wasn't the only campaign underway. Yuss, formerly a neutral port wedged between the Decepticon states of Kaon and Stanix, had fallen to Onslaught's advance. Tidal Wave had cleared the Rust Sea of Autobot forces and was now shelling their outposts in Kalis with impunity while Crumplezone's ground troops poured across the border from Tyrest. Dreadwing's bombing campaigns had reduced the Autobots' military-industrial facilities in the Tagan Heights to ruins. Insecticon hordes were rampaging through the Energon farms north of Valvolux, destroying the Autobots' solar collectors and refineries and using the energy and raw materials to spawn ever more of themselves for Megatron to command. And, most pointedly of all, Megatron's fleet of newly-constructed warships had managed to successfully drive off the Autobots' attempts to occupy the orbital space above Kaon and Polyhex.

Of course, there had been setbacks as well. The capital region of Stanix had become a smoking crater, apparently because Megadeath had gone insane and deployed nuclear weapons against himself. Roadblock's advance through the sonic canyons had been blunted. Blackout's regiment was in full retreat in the face of greater than expected resistance in Altihex. And, worryingly, no word had come back from Starscream and Shockwave since Megatron had dispatched them on their mission. But, all in all, it had been a very, very good day for the Decepticon leader.

"This war is going to be over before it even gets started, at this rate."
________________________________________

Praxus Institute of Advanced Biomechanics

Predacon made a contemptuous sound after Obsidian summoned them. "Uh-oh, the babysitter wants to ruin all our fun," he said -- after making sure his comm unit was off, that is.

Following Scorponok out, he shrugged. "Meggy's always in a hurry," he told the bigger Decepticon. "Always wants to move onto the next big thing, never takes the time to actually enjoy what he's got. I mean, hell, he just took over a whole city-state and what did he do? Turn around and try to take over the whole solar system!" Predacon laughed. "But he keeps me busy with new science projects, so why am I complaining?"

Glancing over at Tarantulas he asked, "Why do you have such a hate on for Wheeljack? I mean other than the obvious rival-on-the-wrong-side reasons?"
________________________________________

Invasion Zone

Hammer watched as Brick directed several of their brethren in disposing of the Autobot prisoners.

"Acknowledged," he said to Obsidian. "Moving out."

He waved the leaders of the squads he'd collected over, relaying the command to each of them and giving each of them a different route to the rendezvous point. That way, if there were still any small nests of Autobots left in the city it would increase the odds of flushing them out before the bulk of the Decepticon forces had withdrawn.