Meanwhile, back in Kaon, the diminutive Megaplex and a few other Autobots form one of the crews trying to repair what damage the Decepticons did manage to do. If--or more likely, when--the Decepticons return, the fortress city and everyone within will fare better if its weakened armor is reinforced or replaced, and if its damaged defense systems (namely sensor nets and weapons emplacements) are restored as closely as possible to optimal performance levels.Time Traveller wrote:After the heroic Autobots had finally crushed the Decepticon presence off of Cybertron by planting the heroic double spies Rodimus and Arcee among their ranks, the Decepticons took to Cambreaker's Pirate flagship, the Netherspite. Traveling through space, they rebuilt their forces by raiding inhabited colonies of other worlds, killing the natives and plundering all the supplies they needed.
Having previously destroyed Iacon by orbital bombardment to prevent Autobots utilizing the city, the Decepticons returned to the scarred blast crater and began to execute vicious raids, operating from the docked Netherspite in absence of any standing ruins. While the Autobots grieved the loss of their capital, they took up defense in the fortress city of Kaon while Cambreaker attempted to ablate it by bombardment. Only the timely interference of a powerful and benevolent benefactor saved the city from the assault, and now the Decepticons prepare for another merciless assault, gathering their strength in arms at the Netherspite over former Iacon...
Missile bay SW11-38 ((missile bay #38 of South-West building 11)) was one of the hardest hit; much more bombardment in this area and the Decepticons' weapons might have not only destroyed the missile launchers, but also might have detonated one or more of the unfired missiles in the launcher magazines, setting off the entire stockpile.
As it is, most of the launchers at this location are irreparably destroyed, as are some of the computers that gunners would use to aim and fire their missiles. Several of those computers had actually exploded along with the launchers they controlled; a few small flames still flicker from a number of those ruptured consoles and display screens. Since those computers are ruined anyway, Megaplex doesn't hesitate to begin dousing the flames with the hydro cannon attached to his right arm. One of the others, carrying a portable firefighting device, smothers the flames of computers on the other side of the room with hissing bursts of foam.
Behind him, Megaplex hears the other Autobots debating whether to try repairing the few salvageable launchers, maybe transferring a few intact launchers from other emplacements to this one, or else writing SW11-38 off as a loss and using its supply of missiles to restock launchers elsewhere. Megaplex doesn't say anything. He doesn't like the idea of leaving SW11-38 as a weak spot in Kaon's defenses--even if it does normally have overlapping fields of fire with other nearby weapons stations--but he doesn't think the Autobots should risk taking the time to fix the remaining launchers here. If the Decepticons were to return with SW11-38 still out of commission, the attackers might overlook it as a weakness in Kaon's defenses. However, if the remaining launchers here were repaired and active when the Decepticons attacked, the Decepticons would target it just like any other weapons emplacement--but even if supplemented with launchers relocated from other weapons platforms, SW11-38 would be sufficiently below its ordinary fighting strength that anyone posted here would be in even greater danger than gunners usually are. Still, Megaplex decides to let his more experienced teammates make that decision.
As Megaplex tenses himself to leap over to the last burning computer, he hears somebody calling his name.