Slipstream Goa Shred Megatron Nitrogear
Slipstream is on her duty shift like she's supposed to be, keeping watch over the area from about the height of the beasts' head.
Goa blitzes in from the west, late for his shift. His engines sputter occasionally, echoing backfires across the flat roads and plains. <Reporting in.> He rolls up to the base of Trypticon and seems to be analyzing his surroundings a moment.
Slipstream looks down from where she is hovering, "Good cycle Goa. Surprised you made it out here all considering." she states, "Sounds like you need a tune up."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Shred transmits, "Lord Megatron, are you monitoring the band?"
Goa transforms, waving to the sky and starting his climb up the saurian. "Back atcha," he replies, "Hope that's all it is. Shred made any progress?"
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Megatron rasp, "Yes Shred I am."
Slipstream hovers closer to the beasts optics to peer inside the head, "Some yes." she replies, "Need a hand up?"
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Shred transmits, "Good.. Sir, I have something important to report.. This thing we are guarding and repairing, I just got into the brain module. It is NOT Trypticon."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Shred transmits, "The control unit I put in Trypticon is not here, and there is no sign of it ever having been. This isn't the same Mechanoid."
Shred is on the radio, and where she can be seen through the optic of the beast, she looks distinctly worried.
Goa just uses the flier as a grip in his final ascent to perch on the beast's head. Once he's finished, he answers, "Sure." He begins scans of the area.
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Megatron transmits, "Shred are you telling me you put something in the beast without my authorization to do so?"
Slipstream hauls up on the grounder until he's settled. "He doesn't sound too happy."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Megatron rasps, "Are you certain of this? Perhaps it was damaged in the battle."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Shred transmits, "No sir, as I said, there is no sign of it ever having been here, and I can recognize my own work when I see it."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Megatron transmits, "Any sign of the beast having been tampered with?"
Goa shrugs. "Hey, at least he's not here. But what's up with two Trypticon’s lumbering around?"
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Shred transmits, "There is definitely some sign of tampering. There's fresh welding in this cranium. I had to cut my way into the brain module"
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Megatron transmits, "Do what you can to fix the situation before the beast is revived. I want a full report once this whole matter is finished. As for the rest of you, make sure you are doubled up on guard duty. A Autobot spy was spotted late last cycle."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Shred transmits, "Understood, sir... Looking at the situation in here, the most efficient way to control this thing though would be via direct interface.."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Megatron transmits, "A direct interface? And who would be controlling this?"
Goa taps on one of the huge transformer's optics, peering in. "I'm good at breaking things."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Shred transmits, "Whoever you assigned to said task, sir. I believe I could do it myself, if you wanted me to."
Slipstream chuckles at that comment from Goa, "I don't think she'd like that. Or Megatron for that matter."
Goa shrugs, still upside-down trying to get a look in. "Never know 'nless ya ask."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Megatron transmits, "Starscream assigned himself the task of the beast but seeing as he's failed to make sure the creature was not molested, perhaps I should consider. Can you make the interface controlled by me Shred?"
Shred hrms, "The way in is at the side of the head, Access code Alpha Tango Omega. Come on in."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Shred transmits, "Certainly, lord Megatron."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Megatron transmits, "Excellent. I expect to see the device when it is ready."
Slipstream lands on the beast's nose, "Someone has to stay out here and look for Bots now that they know about this thing being out in the open."
<Radio-MIL-DEC> Shred transmits, "Of course sir."
Goa raises a surprised optic ridge, then clambers over to the access like a gleeful sparkling. "Good call, Slips," he says as he keys in the code and sticks his helmet in, peering around. "Shred?"
Shred is beside the brain casing, and the way into the chamber where it is, there is a door that has been cut open with a las-torch. "Over here, Goa. "
Slipstream comments, "He sounds pleased, good thinking there Shred." she states loudly enough to be heard through the optics.
Goa ducks a bit as he makes his way in, crouching on one knee next to the medic. "Seconded. Hi again." He smiles a little. "Did you need help with something?"
Shred hmms, "Well, Goa, if you can access the terminal over there, check for any encrypted files. Something about this doesn't quite sit right with me."
+Roll: Goa rolls against his Snoop Software and succeeds by 7! The total roll was 29.
+Roll: Goa rolls against his Snoop Software and succeeds by 30! The total roll was 6.
Slipstream keeps watch from her perch, listening to the two chat.
Goa skids along on his knees and starts tapping away at the beast's console, helmet tilting to the side incrementally more until he speaks. "... is this supposed to be here?" He points at the screen, where a command diversion script, still garbled in parts but recognizable, is displayed.
Shred hmms, and she comes over, to look at the file, and she shakes her head.. "No, I do not recognize that file. If you can, Goa, hack it. Find out who put it in there. If we can adjust it, we might be able to make good use of it."
+Roll: Goa rolls against his Snoop Software and SUCCEEDS PERFECTLY!
Slipstream calls out, "Found something suspicious?"
Goa seems to already be on the task, his keystrokes becoming halting and ... confused ... by how easily he's gaining entry into this system. Almost as if simplicity was the point. "Yeah, a bit," he yells to the outside. One of his fingers hooks on the edge of the controls. "Shred." He motions her over to the terminal again, so soon. "Changing this shouldn't be a problem. In fact, I'm pretty sure you can access most of his systems now. But do you know this guy?" His finger unhooks and taps against the screen where a sloppily left modification signature remains.
Shred nods, and she comes over to take a look, "Protofire.. hmm... Ok. I'm no expert on coding, but can you extrapolate on this, to make a defense file to prevent a similar file being used again?"
+Roll: Goa rolls against his Intelligence Stat and succeeds by 7! The total roll was 4.
"... uhh." The mech bipods the cone of his helmet against two fingers, leaning his elbow on the console surface. "I'm more about breaking than making, but I'll see if I can't reverse-engineer what's there." Goa starts mixing things around in the coding quite a bit more sluggishly than he gained access.
Slipstream keeps her optics peeled as she stands on the nose of the beast, commenting, "Crystal City guardsman, retired." yeah she reads a lot of files. "Interesting he'd want to mess with the beast."
Shred nods, "Thanks. I need to work on a DNI system for this thing.."
Goa glances over his shoulder. "DN...I?"
Nitrogear flies in overhead, coming in from patrolling the nearby area. Noticing work is continuing on Trypticon, he lands and transforms into Robot mode, deciding to pull perimeter security like last time.
Shred nods, "Direct Neural Interface, Goa."
Slipstream looks up and nods toward Nitrogear, "Good cycle." is offered
+Roll: Goa rolls against his Intelligence Stat and succeeds by 3! The total roll was 8.
Nitrogear says, "Good cycle indeed, Comrade Slipstream." Nitrogear nods back, turning towards her and acknowledging her, before turning his scanners back towards the horizon, paying more attention to where Shark came in last time and the surrounding buildings."
Slipstream states, "Megatron has ordered we double up on guard duty due to the Autobot spy."
Nitrogear nods. "Who else do we have on the duty, Comrade? I can repost the roster to the computer database."
Goa finishes his work and lets the console churn for a few ticks to commit it. "That should stop anyone worse than me, but otherwise anybody can just go in and edit it." He turns around, still crouching a bit in the small space. "Should probably have Starscream come bake in the security at some point. This is all unlocked. Weird.
Slipstream replies, "Goa is on duty but is assisting Shred at this time. You can assist me until he comes out."
Nitrogear says, "I would be happy to join you. Two sets of optics are better than one, Comrade. Plus it provide companion. Better then a cycle alone, don't you agree, Comrade?""
Slipstream smiles to that, "I agree Nitrogear, very much so."
Goa crawls to the access hatch, sticking his helmet out and peering up and around to see who it is talking outside. "Hey, it's that comrade bot," he yells, waving. "Good cycle."
Starscream peers from outside a panel of Trypticon. "Ah good, you are doing your jobs," he says. He retreats back inside and the sound of welding continues.
Nitrogear joins Slipstream, and stands next to her. His optics occasionally glace back to her as they chat, but he makes them remain focused on the avenues of approach. Hearing Goa shout, he returns the greeting. "Greetings, Comrade! Good Cycle as well! We can talk when we are not so far apart." Nitrogear adds, trying to keep the hollering down to a minimum, to avoid attention from any nearby Bots.
Slipstream turns slightly and smiles toward Goa, "Having fun in there?" she asks, a hint of a tease to her tone. Then looking back to Nitrogear, "So tell me what is it with the comrade title?"
"Oh, yeah. Fun hitting my head on the ceiling." Goa clangs his fist on the hull of Trypticon, "Air commander! If you've got a tick..." Leaning out to get a better look, he continues, "Security coding. Not my thing."
Starscream reappears when Goa calls out. "What is it?" he asks, approaching with a raised optic brow.
Goa sinks back into the sauroid's cranium halfway. "You know a Protofire by chance?" He says, waving back at Trypticon's head. "He put something in Trypticon's systems that made him go nuts. I tried to put in a little countermeasure to stop it happening again, but ... slag, the whole system's a bit loose. Needs an overhaul," Goa rubs the side of his helmet.
Slipstream nods toward Goa and turns her attention to Nitrogear to await his answer.
Nitrogear says, "Well, Comrade.. I came direct from the remnants of a major communist Decepticon city. I was equipped with all those different technology when I was created.", Nitrogear states simply, not having an intricate way to put it."
"OH is that right," Starscream says, "I shall have to deal with Protofire, then." He rubs his chin thoughtfully.
"Well, Comrade.. I came direct from the remnants of a major communist Decepticon city. I was equipped with all those different technology when I was created.", Nitrogear states simply, not having an intricate way to put it.
Slipstream hmms softly, crossing her arms over her canopied chest, "Communist..?"
Nitrogear nods, and describes the system of Government as he knows how.
Goa lids his optics halfway. "Right, sure, but in the meantime, this guy's wide open to reprogramming." He moves aside, presumably to let Starscream enter for the console. "Priorities."
+Roll: Nitrogear rolls against his Awareness Stat and succeeds by 5! The total roll was 7.
Slipstream nods a bit to the explanation. "Didn't know Lord Megatron would allow such to exist in his army." she comments.
"Of course," Starscream says, "Priorities, indeed. We will use Trypticon to destroy those rebellious Neutrals, and denizens of Crystal City, along with the Autobots. That will take care of our problem quite nicely." He returns to welding connections.
Goa peers after Starscream, shaking his head a little, then extricates himself from Trypticon's cranial cavity, locking up shop behind him -- encrypting and locking away the access code in his databanks, meanwhile. He climbs out and perches on Trypticon's head, right between the optics. "I miss anything?"
Nitrogear says, "Well, my early days were spent as a mere experiment before I had my spark. After, the Decepticons saw use of me for the greater good of the Empire, and sent me through the academy. The tests did not stop there though - but the ones that would destroy a Mech did. I exist now to serve the Decepticon Empire, for its greater good." So, I'm kind of in the Army by default - And so far the Comrade General and Comrade Starscream have been pleased."
Nitrogear responds to Goa, "There has been no activity, Comrade. Continue with your work, we have the watch."
Slipstream turns slightly toward Goa as he settles between the beasts' optics, "All is well Goa." she assures, then looks back to Nitrogear, "I trust you have found being part of the army to your liking."
Nitrogear nods in response to Slipstream. "Yes, Comrade. I enjoy destroying the enemies of the Empire. It is quite enjoyable to me to drag their smoldering heap of scrap and turn them into slag." Nitrogear says that last part with a grin and a short laugh, "Heh, heh."
"Work's done. I'm not here to repair, Shred just called me in to get a couple things." Goa waves his hand up at the Russocon, quirking his face a bit at the mech's enthusiasm. "... so Slipstream. I thought you held the morning shift?"
Slipstream hmms softly to Nitrogear and then nods, "Anything else you enjoy?" then she looks toward Goa. "I do have that shift, but since Megatron ordered double the guards that means I have your shift too."
Goa nods and crosses his legs, leaned forward to stabilize himself, now curious to watch the conversation.
Nitrogear says, "Comrade Starscream has only given me your two names for guard duty. I will get with him as soon as he's done working in there and ask for more. Double shift, means we need at least two to three more, to ensure we don't run out of energy" Nitrogear adds. "My original intent, Comrades, was to not interfere with the rest of your cycles.""
Slipstream nods to that, "Well Megatron supersedes your posting so it's just best to leave it as is and we can fill in as needed for shifts. There are other Cons that can be tapped after all."
Nitrogear nods as well. "I am always here, Comrades. I use one of the nearby buildings should I need rest, and only fly back to Polyhex should I need Energon. Should you need to take care of some personal business, I am understanding."
Goa leans to the side, bumping Slipstream's shoulder. "I don't mind working double shifts. Better than infinite shifts." He still looks a bit taken aback by Nitrogear's devotion to his job, optics wide and peering.
Slipstream inclines her head to that, "I can join Goa on his shift and share a shift with you with no issues." she states, then glances at Goa as he bumps her shoulder, "Yes?"
"Since I was appointed in charge of this duty, it is my responsibility to be here. And so, it is also my responsibility to make sure you are taken care of, Comrades." Nitrogear says, noticing Goa's reaction.
"Nothin'." Goa continues chuckling as he stands and flexes the bladed 'wings' at his shoulders, stooping and looking down. "When the spy was here, did it look like they were gunning for anything? Just casing it out?" He looks back down at the head of Trypticon and out to the horizon, spinning his beard in his hand.
Slipstream nods to Nitrogear, "I would presume that Starscream assigned you the duty of setting up the guard roster?" she asks.
Nitrogear responds, "Correct, Comrade. I only had your two names to start with."
"You gonna make me go ask Starscream again?" Goa frowns a little, crossing his arms.
Nitrogear looks at Goa, obviously confused. "About what, Comrade?"
"The Autobot. What were they looking for?" Goa rubs at his throat. Vocoder must still be shot if he's that difficult to hear over the jets.
Slipstream nods, "Yes, who was it and what did they hear or see."
Nitrogear says, "Ah, sorry about that, Comrade. I was (OOC Personally) sidetracked." Nitrogear states, reporting "The Autobot known as Shark snuck in and eavesdropped on us from those buildings over there. Nitrogear points them out, and indicates their coordinates. "He hid and listened for information. I managed to find him and shoot him, but he bowled me over and got away."
Goa looks over at Slipstream. "Any idea who that is, miss know-your-enemy?" He smirks, then turns back to Nitrogear, "And any idea how long he was there? What he could've picked up on? I didn't think the Autobots could do much, but now that I've seen the state of the thing...
Slipstream hmms, "Perhaps we need to arrange for a trap for further trespassers now the Autobots know where to come." she states. She smiles at Goa, "I make it my business to know such things Gooey."
Nitrogear says, "An excellent idea, Comrade Slipstream. Tracks indicate that Shark came in from this direction." Nitrogear indicates the direction by pointing. "Also, avenues of approach are here, here, and here." Nitrogear points out three spots which would be good for ground-based traps. "I figure Shark was there.. not long. I found him pretty quick. But the Autobots do know the location of Trypticon, so that's already compromised.""
Starscream grumbles something about the Autobot getting away.
+Roll: Goa rolls against his Agility Stat and fails by 0! The total roll was 14.
Nitrogear adds "I would estimate Shark was here for about a breem."
Slipstream inclines her head to this, then smiles. "Thank you, I thought it was a good idea too. Perhaps we can set up while others are on duty so there is no lapse between shifts."
Goa stops, pinching his chin. "Traps...?" A devious grin crosses the mech's face, "I could set something up down there. Roll through and find other entrances, too." Waving at Slipstream, he just takes one long step off of Trypticon's nose and plummets. No loud thump accompanies his landing, but loud cursing and the random firing of rocket engines do.
Slipstream gasps and peers down, "Goa?"
Nitrogear says, "You alright down there, Comrade Goa?""
Starscream peers over the edge and looks down. "Forgot there was no step there?" he wonders.
The 'Con looks somewhat flat with his limbs flopped out ever, but he is still mobile, flashing a thumbs up back at the jets. "I'm good!"
Slipstream frowns a bit, "Honestly scare me half to the slag furnace."
Slipstream looks toward Nitrogear, "Sooo tell me... do you enjoy the company of femmes?" she smirks a bit, obviously leading up to something.
Nitrogear simply grins. "Of course. What is it you had in mind, Comrade?", Nitrogear asks in response, wondering what it is Slipstream was going to ask him.
Slipstream uncrosses her arms, "Good, I trust you have met Firestorm?" she inquires.
Goa's attention seems to be distracted, or he's too far off to hear anything. He rolls into the first point and folds his grenade turret out, sticking inactive charges into piles of debris around the path.
Nitrogear checks his databanks, and has indeed met her. "I know of her, I can't say that I remember when we last spoke, Comrade."
Slipstream nods a bit to this, "Well if you happen to see her, maybe you two should talk.. get to know each other." she tells him.
+Roll: Goa rolls against his Power Stat and BOTCHES!
Nitrogear nods, "I will have to remember that."
Slipstream nods a bit to this, "Well if you happen to see her, maybe you two should talk.. get to know each other." she tells him.
Goa starts rolling to the next tunnel Nitrogear pointed out, engine grumbling a bit to get torque--*POP!*-- With an echoing blast and a puff of blue smoke, his engine dies entirely. The car swerves and barrels into some rubble as he transforms, flailing and screeching with a static-tinged, pained-sounding volume.
Nitrogear nods, and sees Goa in the distance having trouble. "We should go help Goa out, Comrade. I cannot repair though, but with your help, we could probably haul him back to Poly."
Slipstream grimaces as Goa runs himself off the proverbial road. "I'll handle him, my shift is done anyway." she states, flying up and off the snout of the beast to head over toward Goa's position.
Starscream mutters and slowly descends to the ground to see what has happened to Goa. "Am I going to have to repair you?" he asks.
+Roll: Goa rolls against his Endurance Stat and fails by 6! The total roll was 18.
Nitrogear nods over to Slipstream as she takes off "Let me know if you need a hand." Nitrogear says as she moves towards Goa.
Goa squirms away from Starscream, heel assemblies sparking and belching blue-black dust. "No," he forces out between hisses, "Prior--aaaggh!"
Slipstream turns to Starscream, "Please sir, let me handle him." her voice respectful, but insistent.
Starscream sighs. "Very well," he says, "I should be working on Trypticon anyway." He flies back up to go back to doing what he was doing.
--- --- ---
Goa is motionless by the time Slipstream arrives, optics fluttering into stasis or shock. "... where's Shred..."
Slipstream smiles as you look up and around, "Not here Goa. Just lay back and relax."
One arm flaps against the table a bit, as if to roll the mech over, then his limbs and helmet collapse, the latter with a thunk and a wince. Goa rotary-coughs a few times, choking back lingering peeps of agony. It's now clear he's losing energon, as it seems to be seeping out of the grille of his chest. "... huh?"
Slipstream moves to activate the repair drones, "Take care of that mech." she instructs it. "Stay still Goa and let them work, I'm right here okay?"
Goa's face languidly rolls to the side, mech falling into stasis lock almost immediately, even as the drones begin hooking him up to support and removing plates to locate and quell whatever fuel line has been damaged. Looks like whatever he got hit with before went beyond a simple blown voice box...
Slipstream takes a seat on a empty med table to watch over the proceedings. Studying every move those drones make and observing what they do to deal with the situation.
Based on the attentions, it looks like the damage is deep in the roller's chest. When they get the last plate off, however, the drones seem to hover, bewildered. One bolts off buzzing something about a piping, while the rest look like they're trying to play damage control.
Slipstream frowns, watching on as they buzz to each other as they work on things. "Honestly.. do I HAVE to call in Shred on you drones?" she asks.
There's a pool of violet forming at the floor of the medical berth as they get the retrieved component -- a valve that looks like it should be a touch too big for Goa's protoform -- installed in the mech's chassis, then electrically nudge him back online to test it. The last procedure would've been invisible save a groan from the green 'Con. Some of them disperse, leaving two to close him back up and normalize the support systems.
Slipstream hrmphs, "Need reprogramming. Sloppy work." she states as she moves off the table seeing that they are finishing up and will wake up Goa soon.
Goa's already back online, peering to one side, then the other with thin optics. As the last panel is locked back into place, a bright glow from the internal structure of his chest is obscured. Lifting his legs to rest bent at the knees, he appears to be grimacing back motor discomfort even still. "...nnnhey."
Slipstream moves over to smile down upon you, "Hey yourself, feel any better?" she asks, moving a hand to caress a cheek. "Or something still amiss?"
Goa's neck is limp, cheek rolling listlessly under the touch. "Still." He inhales, whistling a bit through his plates of teeth. "... systems have aged. Hoped that ... ggh... wouldn't happen. Nitrogear. Sorry," One of his hands seems to have wandered sideways, clutching at his chest. "Lizard. Still needs defended. You kn--" -- a stop short for air, ventilation -- "--explosives? Somebody can lay the traps." The orange focuses of his optics look almost like they're pointed different directions.
Slipstream frowns at this odd nonsensical talk you are sputtering out, she assures you softly, "Don't worry we'll finish what you started Goa. You just get better. I'll ask Shred to look in on you even." she states, leaning over to kiss your cheek near the mouth, "Just rest."
"... figures I would've had it better on that planet." Goa smiles a hint, wheezing out a broken chuckle, before his optics darken out and he whirrs down into a long stasis.
Nitrogear enters the repair bay, and heads to the repair drone. "Fix me up, quick. I got to go back to my post." Nitrogear says, as the mechanical drone begins its work.