[Closed]

[ultramatum]

Who: Ultra Magnus, Rotorstorm, and Rodimus
Where: Out in the desert
When: Today
What:Ultra Magnus leads a number of missions with some hot heads.
Warnings: An utter lack of humor

ROTORSTORM

While their energon supply wasn't troubling yet, finding a new supply soon would be imperative. After studying some of the local geographical data Magnus was fairly certain he had located a sizeable deposit, but since this was public information there was no guarantee the Decepticons hadn't already found it as well, and may have set up a guard. So, rather than attempt a scouting mission alone, Magnus decided it might be time to call in some assistance from CONDOR.

He'd requested air support, and hadn't been too surprised when they assigned the helicopter pilot he had spoken with earlier. Magnus had driven out to one of CONDOR hangers on the edge of town nearest the supposed energon supply. He was waiting on the tarmac in his alt mode, engines idling as he waited for Rotorstorm to arrive.

RODIMUS

It wouldn't be entirely inaccurate to say Ultra Magnus had been keeping Rodimus at arms length since his release. Whether he was doing this purposefully, or as a result of spending most of his time working with CONDOR, was impossible to say. Regardless, in this instance he needed Rodimus' particular expertise, and had therefore requested his presence on this mission.

Now that they'd relocated their base, and settled things with CONDOR, it was a time to get serious about dealing with the Decepticons, and the first thing that entailed was locating them. As much as he hated to admit it, Rodimus' little stunt was the closest lead they had.

They'd been driving through the desert for some time before Ultra Magnus chose to stop and transform and take stock of their position in relation to Rodimus' initial report.

Comments

[worstprime]

Rodimus and Ultra Magnus have hardly even spoken since The Incident, so saying that this excursion is a MITE AWKWARD is something of an understatement. It doesn't help matters than it's borderline impossible to make small talk with Magnus...in fact, Rodimus spends most of the drive trying to think of something (ANYTHING) to talk about, coming up blank and contributing further to the immense awkwardness of the whole affair.

When Magnus transforms, Rodimus follows suit, looking around the featureless landscape with a somewhat puzzled look.

"I'm pretty sure it was...somewhere around here?" He doesn't actually sound that sure. "It was night time though. And there's all these...rocks." He gestures vaguely at....some rocks.

[ultramatum]

"You were at the Decepticon base for days. I don't understand how you were unable to obtain specific coordinates or find some way to record the location more concretely."

Which was not entirely true, it was very easy to imagine why that didn't happen considering who he was speaking to. Continuing to berate Rodimus for his poorly executed, unsanctioned plan wasn't going to get them anywhere at this point, especially after his time in the brig, but that wasn't going to stop Magnus from attempting at get a least a few points across.

He started walking toward one of the small hills for some higher ground, scanning their surroundings critically.
"Even so, a Decepticon vessel of that size should be putting off at least minimal energy readings. I imagine we should have run into some sign of it by now."

[worstprime]

Rodimus makes a disgruntled face at Magnus' turned back. He says that like it's so EASY to get coordinates. Like he can just WRITE THEM DOWN in his imaginary...coordinate recording notebook, or something.

"Maybe they've got it cloaked or...or moved it really far off, or something?" Rodimus says helpfully, kicking a small rock as he follows behind. Assuming this is the right spot, that is. There doesn't seem to be any sign that the ship was ever here, although Rodimus is reasonably sure this is the right place...

[ultramatum]

Maybe try it next time, you might get lucky. He stopped at the crest of the hill, running yet another scan for energy signatures.

"Do you really think the Decepticons could have gotten their ship mobile that quickly? CONDOR says they've been stealing raw materials around the city but do they have the numbers to complete a project of that scale?"

It wasn't a sarcastic question, if that was the case they were going to have a much more difficult time on this planet than it had already been.

[worstprime]

Rodimus shrugs noncommittally. "Dunno. They had about the same number as we do give or take..." More give. "...but they have Soundwave, and Shockwave. Those count for what, two each? And they've got an, er...what d'you call 'em? An Alternian! They've one of those too."

[ultramatum]

"An alternian? Do you know if they were psionic? That be a significant factor."

He started down the other side of the hill, slightly off of their original direction, but he'd caught sight of something some ways out.

"Rodimus, here." He pointed out a spot north of their location, where there were tell tale signs of a recent, and large crash. He didn't wait for the other bot to reply before heading out toward the torn up ground.

[worstprime]

"Er, that depends on if "psionic" means magic," Rodimus replies as he follows Magnus down the hill. "Because if it does...then yes. He was very psionical."

Coming to the top of the hill, he looks off in the direction that Magnus has pointed out, straying a moment behind the other bot.

"What? What is it? What'm I looking at?"

[ultramatum]

"'Psionical' isn't a word." He corrected distractedly, still analyzing the scene in front of them as the got closer.

"Look at those grooves, a large ship crashed here. By the size of them it looks like a match for a decepticon warship. You're estimation seems to have been correct."

[worstprime]

Rodimus makes a disgruntled face at Magnus' turned back. He's knows it's not a real word. Of course it's not a real word.

"Didn't you have any faith in me at all, Magnus? Everything's exactly where I said it was! Except...you know. Not here."

[ultramatum]

"You didn't sound particularly certain a few minutes ago." Magnus pointed out, turning to look down at Rodimus. "But you're right, if there was a ship here it's clearly been moved. Which means the Decepticons have just gained a dangerous advantage."

[worstprime]

"Well, what if they left?" Rodimus says with forced optimism. "Now that they've got their ship fixed...I mean what's...what's the point of them staying here anymore? We've got the forge, Optimus is here, Earth's got nothing worth having, not really...maybe....maybe they left?"

Not that this would be entirely a good thing, but, certainly fighting the Decepticons would be easier on a planet without so many vulnerable indigenous species.

[ultramatum]

"It's certainly a possibility," he didn't sound very convinced though.

"But Optimus being here may very well be enough of a reason for Megatron to remain. From what Optimus Prime said, Megatron knows about Unicron as well. If he is plotting to utilize Unicron's powers for his own ends, and succeeds before Optimus can find a way to stop or destroy Unicron, I've no doubt he would use the 'Chaos Bringer's power to wipe out the Autobots."

[wreckerscombine]

Finally. It was time for a little action...Or, well. Maybe. Supposedly she’s only out here as back up just in case some other giant robots showed up, but any excuse to flex her flying muscles is a good one.

The helicopter’s blades are already spinning as she’s getting ready for takeoff – making a whole lotta noise and a whole lotta wind in the hangar. Hopefully Magnus wasn’t banking on this mission being super covert since this thing sure isn’t one of the quietest aircrafts. That tends to suit her just fine, though – gotta make a good entrance and all. Speaking of which…

Almost as soon as she’s off the ground, Rotorstorm’s copter shoots out of the hangar with a surprising (and probably unnecessary) amount of speed. For a moment it looks like she’s about to zip right past Magnus, but once she spots the big truck on the ground, the aircraft takes a sharp turn and circles around to face the front of the vehicle.

Rotorstorm grins and flips on the controls for the loudspeaker – her voice projecting out of it. “Yoooo, that you Ultra Mags? Nice digs, you pick that truck out?”

[ultramatum]

Magnus heard the coptor before he saw it tearing out of the hangar, and had already started moving when Rotorstorm hailed him through the loudspeaker. Instead of responding in kind he dialed into one of the CONDOR frequencies, voice coming over the audio channels.

"Yes.This is Ultra Magnus." He responded curtly, turning towards the exit of the air field.

"And not precisely. Locating a vehicle with the proper scale requirements for my altmode proved to be a rather difficult task. I've been told this is a military personnel carrier."

[wreckerscombine]

Rotorstorm hadn’t been expecting much of a reaction out of this guy to begin with, so she’s not very disheartened by the curt response.

“Ahhh, so that’s how it works, huh? Gotcha.” She pauses for a moment – deciding switch to the audio channel too. It’s not as showy as the loudspeaker, but it sure as heck makes talking easier. “Yeah, I guess shopping around for something that big could get a little tricky.”

The copter circles around again – behind Magnus now – and keeps a steady pace. Following land vehicles on missions is almost always slow going, and the urge to zip right on ahead is pretty strong. But seeing how she’s supposed to fill the support role and all, she can resist.

[ultramatum]

"Yes. We have to scan an existing vehicle to use as a template for our alt modes. Depending on the planet some have better luck than others. For example, most human vehicles appear to be more in line with Rodimus or Drift's altmodes." He continued, opting for a impromptu lesson on cybertronians than the inevitable awkward silence.

He keeps driving along, making a beeline for the coordinates as well as he can across the uneven ground, keeping an eye on Rotorstorm in his periphery.

[wreckerscombine]

Magnus doesn't need to worry about the whole awkward silence thing. There isn't usually a whole lot of silence in general when Rotorstorm's around.

"I gotta admit. I'm a little disappointed you Autobots didn't bring any of your fliers to earth with you. Cars are cool and all, but I'd kill to do some fancy flying with someone who...is a plane or is a helicopter."

Alternatively, there's always the chance she'll get into a dogfight with one of the Decepticons at some point. Now that could be a good test of her skills.

[ultramatum]

"Autobot forces are already spread thin fighting Decepticon cells across the galaxy. At the moment we can't afford to redeploy soldiers without jeopardizing their own missions."

Even having the five of them on the planet was a fluke, luckily working out their favor but certainly not intended.

"While it would be useful to have an autobot with an airborne altmode here, it's not integral. Especially if CONDOR is willing to support our efforts with soldiers such as yourself."