Iacon

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Blackjack
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Post by Blackjack »

((Where is everyone? :/ ))

Minerva met his gaze and he could tell she was a little skeptical of his methods for finding Cambreaker. He had to admit to himself that they seemed fairly hokey, but it was better than getting in a big ship and flying around, looking for Cambreaker and stuff. With one last glance at the assembled Autobots, he exited the war room and made good on his promise to head to the library.

He really didn't know where he would locate a Covenant of Primus, but there was an abandoned archive building in Iacon. He had passed it several times while entering and exiting the city and remembered it from the days before the war. Although he'd never entered it, he'd heard it was a place where inportant and historical document were kept. As he entered the vast hall of the dusty archive building, Blackjack again felt his circuits tingle. This was one of the most ancient and preserved places on Cybertron and if anything was bound to contain ghost of the Great War it was here. He slowly trudged through empty corriders along rows of computer terminals containing records of Cybertronian history. He thought that maybe the book he was writing in his spare time, on the recent Cybertronian history, could one day be included in this archive. But that was a long time coming.

As he rounded a bend and made his way deeper into the archive, Blackjack could tell he was heading underground. He didn't know where to go, but could somehow feel that he was heading the right way. Then he saw it, the phantom. There was no mistaking it, large, red and blue, with twin smokestacks coming from the shoulders.

Optimus Prime, he whispered.

The phantom did not speak, but it glanced at him with cold, dead optics and he suddenly felt very afraid. Optimus turned from him and began walking deeper into the archives. He entered a small chamber and Blackjack cautiously followed. There upon a pedestal stood a small book, tattered but bound in paper. It was unlike any other Cybertronian history to not be recorded electronically and he realized again the ancientness of the book. The phantom of Optimus stood nearby and now it spoke.

You, Autobot, who would read of the sacred book. Heed the words of Alpha Trion well. As he taught me, I shall teach you. Use what you learn here for the good of all our kind, Autobot and Decepticon. Till all are one!

Blackjack watched in awe as a bright light shone and the phantom of Optimus Prime faded, a distant memory of a long forgotten time. Slowly and reverantly, he approached the pedestal containing the book.
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Rattrap
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Post by Rattrap »

Rattrap listens to Blackjack's speech. He nods his head, finding Cambreaker should still be their priority. Rattrap is surprised when Blackjack calls them a family. He looks around the room, Dinobot was an old friend and he had worked significantly to get to know Redline, beyond that he had only worked with Blackjack and the absent Sideways a few times before his disappearance. On top of that, he knows almost nothing about Minerva, beyond her being dear to Cambreaker and a medic. We're a team definitely, made even friends, but a family? Rattrap almost misses Blackjack's reference to the Covenant of Primus, he is shocked that Blackjack knows where a copy of such a rare book is. He remembered his encounter with the book and shook his head, it was impossibly cryptic and almost impossible to use to predict events until they were just about to happen.

Rattrap is surprised again when Blackjack offers them a choice, the idea of not searching for someone who would invaluably strengthen their cause had not even occurred to him. He owed it to all the Maximals not yet born and the future victims of Predacon atrocities to continue the fight until every last Decepticon was returned to the pit.

Nighteye will be ready by the time you find your book, Blackjack.

Rattrap exits the room shortly after Blackjack leaves. He heads back towards Nighteye and enters the ship through a rear hatch. He breaths a sigh of relief at returning to the safety of his ship. Being in Iacon still makes him nervous, the obsession with the city that the Autobots seem to show doesn't make much sense. He hadn't felt secure in Iacon since it had been taken by the Decepticons, and now that the defenses were seriously breached, the feeling was even worse. He stands in the cargohold and surveys the supplies they had procured from the Heights, while pondering what else needed to be done before they left Cybertron again.
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Sideways
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Post by Sideways »

Sideways returns to Iacon's walls. He enters the main building and makes his way towards the war room.
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Blackjack
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Post by Blackjack »

As Blackjack emerged from the dusty building holding the worn book, he saw Sideways returning to the fortress. He knew that his friend had a laboratory somewhere in the outskirts of the city, but knew nothing of its location. So many of the plans that were laid between Cambreaker, Rattrap, and Sideways before the destruction of Iacon had been made without him. He had no idea what Project Paranoia was and had a good mind to ask someone. Maybe Sideways would know. Cambreaker had been up to something with the two of them and knowing his old friend's own increasing paranoia about the Autobot Matrix of Leadership the project probably was something fairly dangerous.

Seeing Sideways entering Iacon, he ran to catch up with him slowed down a little by the book.

Hey Sideways, he called and Sideways stopped for a moment, sorry that I left without tellin' ya. I wanted to ask ya about your break in. Did the 'cons take anything else besides the Maus? Any idea why they need that ship?

It had been a while since he'd spoken to any Autobots about anything that wasn't business, but that was what a leader had to do. Gone were the days of the wreckless Blackjack who could just leave and go on whatever mission he chose to. He was responsible for their lives and he knew it. Optimus Prime had said so.
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Sideways
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Post by Sideways »

Sideways turns towards Blackjack as he listens to him ask about the break in.

No, they didn't take anything other then my ship. I can only begin to guess where they are heading.. My supercomputer is in the process of rebuilding it's data-banks, and we should have access to sensor arrays shortly. Perhaps I can tap into the flight logs and try attempting to find out where they're heading. It's not impossible, but it won't be easy.
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Redline
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Post by Redline »

(sorry, Blackjack. Been kinda busy and at a loss for what to do next here. >.<)

Blackjack's demeanor had notably changed, as had the atmosphere in what they called the "war room". No longer was the forced air of leadership evident. He seemed sincere, speaking to each 'bot as if they were indeed family, like he had said.

Choice? How can there be a choice? Redline thought to herself as Blackjack continued to speak, asking them each to look into their sparks. How could they not join him to find their leader, comrade and... friend.

She nodded at Blackjack as he left the room. Looking to Rattrap for what she was hoping was a reassuring expression, she saw slight confusion; resolute, but pondering. She smiled at him, hoping to draw out some kind of indication of advocacy. He smiled back at her sheepishly, then turned and headed in the direction of Nighteye.

Redline turned to see Minerva looking in her direction. Smiling again to her friend in a reassuring manner, she said simply I'll see you onboard.

Without another word, the bright red bot left the room to return to her quarters and gather her things. She would need to check on Makeway soon; hopefully his recovery was going quickly.
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Blackjack
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Post by Blackjack »

At least the Decepticons had only taken the ship. Still that was enough to concern Blackjack. They had taken one of the only three space going vessels available to the Autobots and they could be heading anywhere. They might even know where to look for Cambreaker and get their first. Plus he had no idea what kind of modifications Sideways had made to the Maus. It wasn't sentient like the Nighteye, but it still had some powerful weapon systems. He imagined that Sideways would be anxious to get the ship back as it had been his baby since they first found it on Earth's moon. He and Rev had worked for many cycles on refining it into the sleek craft that it now was. What had ever happened to Rev anyway?

Good to know that you can track it. Are you plannin' on comin' on our little adventua to find Cambreaka? We could use your tech knowledge.

He paused, considering his earlier question and decided to ask it.

By the way, I haven't seen yer friend Rev around. Any idea what happened to him?

They were nearing the war room and could see that many of the 'bots had left. Only Dinobot remained now and he was glad to know that so many were supporting his idea.
Last edited by Blackjack on Mon Mar 21, 2011 2:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Sideways
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Post by Sideways »

I don't feel like being the only one left here on Cybertron. I'm sure I'll find myself useful somehow on our voyage.

Sideways' mind jolts at the mention of the name Rev. Suddenly, many different things come back to him. The reason of his stasis lock and his base being so damaged are suddenly brought back to him.

I'm not exactly sure where Rev went. All I can remember is that he was in my lab with me working on a project when we had an explosion.. I was damaged heavily attempting to contain the explosion, and Rev went to shut down the supercomputer to prevent damage to it. I woke up in Iacon, and I have no idea if he's alive or not, or where he is.

Anyway, I was working on a project that was designed to help me adjust and learn my new technologies that I created. My supercomputer would be host to a virtual Cybertron, and I would virtualize myself inside this Virtual Cybertron in order to test my new weapons and technologies, like my hover jets. If that was successful, I was going to build one in Iacon that we could use to practice war-time exercises and such without causing physical harm to ourselves or our surroundings. I haven't had a chance to check to see how it is..
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Rattrap
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Post by Rattrap »

Rattrap wanders the cargo bay, pallets of energon are stacked nearly up to the ceiling. He moves towards the center of the bay, where the central engine juts into the cargo bay, forcing it into a rough horseshoe shape. The engine rumbles gently as it idles. Rattrap pauses to watch a team of maintenance bots dutifully load dominators into the tubes that run forward to the command section. Rattrap continues towards around the bend in the cargo hold and stops to admire the piles of spare parts that had been produced by the Tagon Heights factories, the enormous piles where slowly being sorted by maintenance bots and a workshop was clearly emerging from the chaos.

Nighteye, run a diagnostic. I'd like to make sure we're in pristine condition before we leave Cybertron.

I feel fine though, Rattrap.

Do it anyways, I don't want to take any chances.

Rattrap heads forward towards the command section, he walks down the ramp to the lower deck. Numerous doors coat the lower corridor through the command section. Rattrap continues until he is almost to the gunship section of Nighteye and enters the last door on his left. He steps into the Captain's quarters, the quarters are not much different from the others aboard Nighteye. Twenty small rooms form the lower deck of the command section. While most of the upper deck is dedicated to sensors, the new dominator systems, and the medbay, the lower deck houses nothing but crew quarters. Rattrap looks around the room, a retractable berth is folded up one the rear wall and a computer terminal sits to his right. Rattrap approaches his terminal and opens up an interface with the ship. The terminal prompts him for a password, which he provides before exposing his spark chamber and pressing it against a scanner built into the terminal. The terminal screen displays a loading bar briefly, before bringing up the Captain's interface. Rattrap busies himself by reading through the diagnostic reports as they stream in. A myriad of systems scroll across the screen as each step progresses.
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Minerva
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Post by Minerva »

Having made up their mind, Redline and Rattrap both exit the war room, leaving Minerva and Dinobot behind.
Minerva excuses herself and leaves the room and heads to her quarters to prepare for the departure.

Minerva was tempted to follow Blackjack to find out what he was looking for in the library. Was that where the Covenant of Primus could be found? How could that help them find Cambreaker? Minerva had many questions already, and the more she thought about the situation, the more the number of them increased.

Ugh… suddenly becoming dizzy and losing her balance, Minerva stops and leans briefly against the door to her quarters. The past cycles had been quite eventful to say the least, and the lack of energon and recharge was catching up to her.
Composing herself kliks later, she enters her chambers and surveys the room briefly, noting that everything seems to be where she had last left it. She felt a bit paranoid for even having processed the thought, but with the failing Iacon security systems, one could never be too sure if uninvited visitors had stopped by or not.

She felt bad about leaving Iacon. If the Decepticons, whatever they were up to, decided to come back and attack the city, they would probably not meet much resistance. Minerva hoped that they would be able to leave Cybertron without the Decepticons becoming too suspicious or curious.
Minerva also made a mental note to check on Makeway before they left. Rattrap had mentioned that he was recovering in a CR chamber, and she hoped that whatever had happened to him, it wasn’t too serious. She would also like to know also knew what had become of Wreck-Gar. Perhaps Blackjack knew?
Blackjack… After she and Redline had finished Blackjacks repairs and ‘transformation’, he had seemed like a new mech. In a way he was, she mused, but it wasn’t only his exterior that had changed. His demeanor and attitude seemed to have changed as well. She was both surprised and glad to see her friend in high spirits like that, but she couldn’t help but feel a bit concerned as well.

After finishing downloading a number of files from her personal computer she makes sure that no one but her can access any of its contents while she’s gone. Lastly, she gathers a few of her tools and exits her quarters, grabbing a small helping of energon on her way out.
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Blackjack
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Post by Blackjack »

((We'll get the show on the road soon folks, just gotta take care of something before we go)).

He listens intently to Sideways explain his virtual reality Cybertron ideas. Cambreaker would be enthusiastic about the idea as well. He wonders what had become of Rev as well. It seems they had all faced challenges during their time away from the war. He had moped about Iacon and written in his diary, missing Roulette.

Is there any way you could continue to work on your virtual Cybatron thing while onboard the Nighteye? I like the idea and can see where it would come in handy.

He thinks about the need for security in Iacon while they're gone. The defense systems were haywire, but at least they worked. There wasn't much worth protecting in Iacon right now anyway, aside from the computer files. And if the Decepticons had taken the Maus there was a good chance that they had plans to use it and most likely they had already left the planet. Still there was the DSM lurking somewhere. He suddenly remembered the card. It was something he needed to take care of.

Sorry Sideways, I just remembahed something I gotta do. Get what you need ready and head to the hangar where Rattrap's gettin' the Nighteye ready to go.

He rushes into the corridor and back towards the hangar where the Royal Flush is parked. Finding it in the same condition he had just left it makes him feel a sense of relief somehow, as if the two are connected now. He would have to keep it nearby from now on. He climbs into the tank, feeling a sense of rightness and heads out to a location noted on the business card. It would be better to take the Flush with him, just for security purposes when dealing with his old buddy Pinstripe.

As the tank cruises across the highways of Cyberton, he cracks open the old book for a bit of light reading.

And a darkness would fall upon the Planet's Chosen and he would become an agent of the darkness. And lo they would be cast out among the stars, led by one who's destiny was yet to be determined.

He flipped ahead a few pages and read more.

And there would come one who would challenge the leader for crimes committed in a different time. He would bring vengeance and terrible fire upon them but would bring his own end as well.

This was beginning to get scary. Alpha Trion had seemingly glimpsed into the future. Blackjack was not a 'bot of faith but the words written in the book were difficult to ignore.
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Sideways
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Post by Sideways »

I'm afraid not. I only have access to it from my lab, as it's not connected to any other systems, and it's not 100% completed yet. I'll go see if Rattrap needs any help.

Sideways watches as Blackjack rushes away. He transforms into his Delorean alt-mode and heads for Nighteye's hangar.
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Post by Redline »

A soft, automated swoosh welcomed Redline as the door to her quarters opened. She already had most of her things, having just returned from the Southern Wastelands where her temporary home had been, but her quarters here still contained many personal items. Collecting a few things, but leaving some of the less-necessary items, Redline straightened her joints and stood, her back ever so slightly stooped from the load of the packs she was carrying on it.

Turning to leave, Redline caught a glint of red from her terminal. She had almost forgotten the gift Rattrap had presented her with. Scooping up the box and adding it to her packs, she called Snafu and stepped into the hallway, a rush of air following her as the door to her quarters slid closed and locked with a click.

Beginning in the direction of the main hangar, Redline practically walked into Minerva. Snafu preceeded to scamper happily around the feet of the startled medical bot as if in greeting, until a sharp retort from Redline sent him skittering back to the inner hollows of the packs she was carrying. Sorry about that... Redline apologized with a wavering tone in her voice.

She continued, smiling. "How have you been? I had not seen you for over a stellar cycle, then when I came back you had been kidnapped by the cons. Everything has been such a whirlwind since then, I don't think we've even had a chance to speak."
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Minerva
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Post by Minerva »

On her way to the Nighteye she'd been lost in her thoughts and didn't notice Redline or Snafu until she nearly walked into them.
Minerva watches startled and surprised as Snafu scuttles around her feet until Redline calls him back.
She notices the apologetic look on Redlines face as Snafu disappears into one of the packs.
Don't worry about it Redline, she says with a smile. I'm sorry, I should have been paying more attention to where I was going.

You're right,
Minerva continues, it's been a long time since we've seen each other, and everything really has been a whirlwind lately...
I'm, uh, doing alright considering the circumstances.

The past cycles of events had taken their toll on Minerva, but she didn't want to worry Redline unnecessarily. She knew it was foolish of her to think like that, but she'd decided that she'd have enough time to recover on the Nigheye. The mere thought of finding Cambreaker had also given her a sense of renewed energy.
It's really good to see you again Redline, and I know that this is a bit late, but thank you for coming to my aid earlier. You did a very good job on Blackjacks modifications.
So how are you and Snafu doing? Minerva nods toward Snafu who just peeked curiously at her through an opening in one of the packs Redline was carrying.
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Sideways
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Post by Sideways »

Sideways makes his way to Nighteye's hangar. As he enters the hangar, he calls out to Rattrap.

Rattrap, do you want a hand?
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Redline
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Post by Redline »

The two 'bots continued to walk as they conversed, Snafu bouncing hapily along on Redline's shoulder, where he had moved to now that Redline no longer seemed irritated, and listening to the chatter. Redline knew Minerva was holding back, but she decided to let her have her space; if she needed to know later, she was sure Minerva would tell her. For now, the white med-bot looked like she was holding up well enough, and they would have some down time on Nighteye soon anyhow, perfect for recouperation.

We're doing alright. Redline answered in response to Minerva's question nodded at Snafu. She began to tell Minerva about some of the research she had been doing and about how lucky she had been to hear Blackjack's call for help.

As they had almost reached the hangar where Nighteye was docked, the metalic glint of one of the medical tables drew Redline's attention into the room they were passing and jogged her memory to an important detail she almost forgot.

Slowing and turning to Minerva, she bowed ever so slightly. If you'll excuse me for a second, I just remembered something I need to pick up from the med bay. I'll meet you onboard, ok?

With a quick smile, Redline veered off from the hallway and into the now dimly-lit room. Turning to she shelving along the nearest wall, she exhaled and forced her legs to take a step forward. Sitting in front of her on the shelf was a partially exposed severed head, the wrappings having been slightly disturbed in the commotion of the repairs on Blackjack. Solemnly, Redline gently rewraps the metal in the soft fabrics surrounding the rest of the head and picks it up, turning toward the door and returning to the hallway.
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Rattrap
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Post by Rattrap »

The Diagnostic finishes spewing across the computer screen, all systems reported back green. Rattrap smiles at the result and heads back towards the cargobay. He checks his internal chronometer. Blackjack's taking an awfully long time to find that book. Rattrap pauses and frowns, he wonders if Blackjack is doing something other than what he told the Autobots. He shook his head to clear his processors, Blackjack's speech had seemed sincere, it was unlikely he was doing anything to hurt the Autobot cause. Rattrap resumes his travel down the metallic corridor. He hears Sideway's voice echoing from the cargobay. Rattrap enters the cargobay to find Sideway's waiting for him.

Thanks for the offer Sideways, but there's really not much left to do. Has anyone told you about Blackjack's plan for finding Cambreaker yet?
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Sideways
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Post by Sideways »

No, not really. Care to fill me in?
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Rattrap
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Post by Rattrap »

I guess he knows where a copy of the Covenant of Primus is, and he's going to use it to somehow find Cambreaker.

Rattrap shrugs. The plan seemed vague, but Blackjack seemed sure that it would lead to success.
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Minerva
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Post by Minerva »

Minerva watches as Redline heads toward the med bay. She felt bad for not keeping in touch with her. She was after all a good friend that she cared a lot about.
Cycling a sigh through her vents, she continues through the hangar where she finds the Nighteye. Entering the cargo bay she notices Rattrap and Sideways, apparently in the middle of a conversation, but no sign of Blackjack. A handful of maintenance bots scurries around the area, preparing for Nighteye’s departure.

Minerva approaches the two mechs, making her presence known to them.
Anything I can do to help?
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