Searching for Survivors

Nyon - or what's left of it. Piles of scrap metal, slow-burning fuels, loose parts scorched unidentifiable blues, reds, and blacks from heat-driven oxides. With the city's lack of status before and after its destruction a relief effort is all-but nonexistent; there's nothing to save anyway and not many left to care. Even the formerly towering Omega Destructors are among the wreckage, one of few things strong enough to retain most of their shape after the phase-charges went off. In and among the debris one scavenger here, or one mourner there, are within the blackened ring that marks the cities borders miles apart. For any real purpose, it's population: 0.
That in its own way is why Overclock has chosen to stick around. Having run non-stop from Tesarus to reach the polity she arrived late - too late to help, and set herself to doing aid work. Walking slowly through the ruins to ease her tired joints, the enormous black hound is working her way stubbornly, methodically, in a grid from one end of Nyon's crater to the other. The stench is almost overpowering to the sensitive beastformer and the air is laden with vaporized energon as much as plasma and smoke residue, but if there's someone alive she might smell them... maybe.
Thundercracker is out on patrol over Nyon to look for survivors... and to think. Megatrons offered him something that doesnt come along every day. Its something to make him actualy feel worth something for a change. The problem is does he want the responsibility of it? He slows up as he hits the crator that was Nyon and drops down a few hundred feet to get a better reading as he starts scanning.
Among the wreckage of the former capital-turned-ghetto, there's almost nothing to read. Elevated hot spots from lingering fires, few acoustic signatures, and next to nothing in the EM spectrum. It's an eerie quiet from such a formerly vibrant city but it makes the only remaining signs of life - like Overclock - particularly easy to spot.
Down below, the Insecticon hybrid stops by the gun-head of a fallen Destructor to study the monster - and then bite off its gun. Helping or not, the beast needs to eat some time.
Among the wreckage of the former capital-turned-ghetto, there's almost nothing to read. Elevated hot spots from lingering fires, few acoustic signatures, and next to nothing in the EM spectrum. It's an eerie quiet from such a formerly vibrant city but it makes the only remaining signs of life - like Overclock - particularly easy to spot.
Down below, the Insecticon hybrid stops by the gun-head of a fallen Destructor to study the monster - and then bite off its gun. Helping or not, the beast needs to eat some time. (re)
Thundercracker notices a bugbot munching on a fallen mech, well a huge fallen mech and hte blue seeker spirals down, transforms and lands a few feet away, "What are you doing?" he asks and loos at the mech in question. He sure looks dead but still. The indigo Seekers arm laswer go on standby and he takes a step closer. "Identify yourself."
Overclock turns around as she swallows most of the gun whole and the red lenses of her eyes glow with fresh fuel as they take in the seeker. Thundercracker earns a derisive snort. "Don't act so high and mighty like you're the law here," she chides with a feminine lilt that's corrupted by a rough, rumbling undertone. Appearances be damned, he's found a femme.
Thundercracker flicks a wing, "I am the law here, femme. What is your name?" one of his arm cannons starts to raise a bit. Femme or no as far as hes concerned since it looks like the Autobots arent interested in looking for any survivors it falls to Megatron and the Decepticons. And an idle thought runs across his mind then; if he was Air Commander hed be having other Seekers blanketing the skies over Nyon right now looking for survivors and supplies. Why isnt Starscream doing this?
The beastformer lets out a barking laugh, unphased by the motion of his weapon. "You, the law? There is no law here, there is -nothing- here," she derides sharply. "This whole city is a dead crater in the name of the 'law'."
Stepping towards Thundercracker, the femme falls back onto her haunches as panels shift and rotate across her frame. Her jaw unhinges itself completely as her face rotates to form the chestplate of a bipedal form and Overclock's root mode rises to stand optic-to-optic with the seeker.
"Now I see you've got some purple on your frame. I like purple; got a little of it on myself too... so I'll give you one more chance to rephrase that."
Thundercracker vents some air from his intakes. Hes not impressed. "Rephrase what?"
"You're in the domain of the dead, the dieing, and the recyclers," Overclock explains. "The 'law' hasn't been respected here since Nova Prime and that's not changing today. Show a little more humility for the dead spark of this city."
"So says the one who was eating on that monster there." Thundercracker huff and makes a languid motion toward the dead mech by them. "I have my orders, dont get in my way then." he turns to lift back into the air and resume his patrol.
"This thing is part of what destroyed Nyon; it has no place here," Overclock refutes. As Thundercracker turns to leave, the Insecticon steps forward and reaches for a wing to stop him.
"And what orders are those?" She asks, sounding now more curious than angry.
Thundercracker turns back toward her slowly moving his wing our of her reach. "To find survivors and to end the misery of those that cant be saved. Why? Whats it to you?" //REPOSE
Overclock laughs dryly as she takes her hand back. "Then congratulations, you and me are the relief effort for this Primus-forsaken place. You got a radio line I can reach you with while you're buzzing around overhead?" She asks, twirling with one claw to rather whimsically mime the seeker's flight.
Thundercracker narrows his optics, "Who sent you here?" he ignores the question about radio frequency for right now.
"Do you see a brand on my frame?" The femme asks, turning to prove that her back is as bare as her front. "I'm here because the latest Prime wiped a *city* off the map."
"Unfortunately he was as thorough as a starving hive," Overclock grumbles.
Thundercracker shrugs a bit, "Well thats why Megatron has done what hes done and why hes going to win." he starts poking around since hes stuck on the ground talking to the femme, looking for anything important.
As she watches the seeker, Overclock's tail, still present in her root mode, stabs itself into the fallen Destructor's armor. The femme crosses her arms as the scent of hot metal rises from the wound. "You won't find anything around here, or south to the edge of the city," she informs. "I've already checked."
Thundercracker pauses in mid movment in a rather irritated looking manner. "Fine then, what about further in? Have you checked that already?"
"I've been working my way north one row at a street at a time," Overclock answers. Judging by how many streets are to the south, she's been at this for a long time.
Thundercracker looks to the south and then to her and then to the north. "How can you stand being on the ground like that?" Yes hes the one with the contempt for anything that cant fly.
"Not all of us have wings," the beastformer dismisses. "Four on the floor is more stable anyway; I might as well ask you what it's like not having a tail.."
"I have tailfins thats better." Thundercracker huffs. "Give me the sky any day." and he leaps up, transforms and takes back to the air. He sends his radio frequency down to her. "Megatron has no problems with your kind. Why dont you go talk to him once you are done here?"
Overclock laughs at the eternal flyer/grounder banter as the Seeker lifts off again. <Do you have any idea how long of a walk it is to Kaon from here?> She transmits. with her conversation partner airborne again she draws her tail roughly from the Destructor and resumes walking. Left behind is a clean hole and a hollow, melted interior.
Thundercracker splutters over the radio. <"What do you mean can I even take off with extra weight?"> he wingovers and transforming again is standing in front of her again. "That was low. Of course I can carry you! Though maybe after youve eaten that monster I cant." he flicks a wing at the dead destructor.
"That was just a little snack. All my weight is solid piston," Overclock answers confidently. "If you'd like to prove that after we're done here, I wouldn't mind the lift."
"Yea I got your proof." Thundercracker huffs and then assumes jetmode and lifts off again. <"Call me when youre ready."> and he takes off deeper into the ruin that is now nyon
< Will do, > Overclock answers as the Seeker flies away yet again. < Let me know if you find... -anything-. So far, I haven't.>
Thundercracker replies, <"Will do.">
Walking as she is, Overclock doesn't cover ground nearly as quickly as Thundercracker, but the Insecticon seems determined to cover the city from end to end. Eventually, with nothing better to do, she keys her radio. <"How did you get wrapped up in all this anyway?">
Thundercracker hasnt really had much luck finding anything as far as survivors or mechs to put down at the present but hes still looking, <"My brother thought it would be fun to join the rebel leader. And here I am."> Or at least thats all hes going to say about it.
<"You've got a brother?"> Overclock asks in surprise.
Thundercracker repies, <"Yea, a couple actually. I as refering to my youngest one -- hes a dweeb.">
<"A... what?"> That one didn't quite translate.
<"Hes an aft-hat."> Thundercracker corrects.
<"You don't sound too committed yourself,"> Overclock notes.
<"What makes you say that?"> Thundercracker snaps back.
<"You joined because your brother thought it would be fun?"> Overclock answers rhetorically.
<"Are you having fun searching for a single survivor in this entire city from up there? Is the view that much nicer?">
<"What are you, Rungs best friend or something?"> The blue seeker says as he continues to patrol and scan.
<"You said it not me,"> Overclock replies. <"Who's Rung?">
Thundercracker says, <"Some head shrink Autobot -- a small mech and hes always asking stupid qustions.">
<"Think what you want then,"> the femme dismisses.
There's a long silence as Overclock continues to search until finally the beastformer radios again, despondent. <"That's it, there's nothing left. I think there's no one left.">
After a while Thundercracker replies, <"I think you are right -- or at least theres no one in the scrope of our senses to find. What do you want to do?">
Overclock pauses at length to consider just that. <"Fly me somewhere less dead?">
Thundercracker picks her up on radar and heads to her location. As he approaches he transforms and lands. "I have to head back to base. That find for you?"
The femme is in her root mode again by the time Thundercracker lands, noticeably more covered in dust. She might have gone digging for a lost cause.
"As long as home is Kaon and you leave me on solid ground," she replies. "I was in Tesarus when the explosion happened..."
"Yea Im going by Kaon." Thundercracer says and wrinkles his nose in spite of himself at all the dust shes coverd in. Oh Primus and shes about to get in his cockpit. With a pained look he transforms and opens his canopy. "Can you kinda wipe yourself down a bit before you get in?" is all he grumbles.
"Unless you've got some spare oil to pour on me there's not much I can do about this," Overclock mentions. Curling her tail back upon herself, a small gout of flame bursts from the end and briefly obscures her face before the Insecticon sweeps it over her frame. Not enough to properly burn her armour, the heat and gust manages to blast away some but not all of what's bonded to her paint. After a brief cleaning, the flame turns back off.
"Better?" The femme asks a bit testily. "And if it's all the same to you, it might be best if I ride on top. I don't think I get that small."
Thundercracker scans her and realizes shes right. Oh even more humiliating. His canopy closes and locks and he says with a vent of air through his intakes, "Fine get on." he fires up his engines and waits for her to mount him.
Overclock walks over and sits down gently atop Thundercracker's wings, straddling his fuselage. Her tail wraps itself around the portion fore of his tailfins and her hands take a grip around his nosecone, trying not to scratch anything with her claws. Once her feet are fully off the ground, the Insecticon proves to be as dense as she is broad, but for what it's worth she tries to lower herself into something of a jockey crouch over the Seeker's cockpit.
"Ready when you are."
Thundercracker grumbles and uses his thrusters to lift straight up as theres not much of a runway persay. Once hes up high enough he kicks in his afterburners heads toward Kaon. Its also instantly apparant that shes a serious drag on his aeridynamics but he compensates and flies on in sulkly silence.
As Thundercracker and his payload slip the surly bonds of Cybertronian gravity, Overclock's grip in all places tighten and her tail twitches as it tries to maintain her balance. "Woah-!" Then the afterburners kicks in.
Thundercracker doesnt break the speed of sound with her latched onto his back but hes not flying slow either.
<* Arriving in Kolkular *>
The sound of tetrajet engines is heard suddenly and making a jet landing, Thundercracker taxis into the hangerbay with a femme bugbot riding on his back. "Ok you can get off now." he grumbles and waits for her to dismount so he can transform. He seems grumpier now then he was before for some reason.
The red and white seeker had been resting quietly in his alt mode on one of Kolkular's platformed mezzanines, waiting patiently for his brother. When the indigo jet lands in the hanger, he protoforms and approaches the arriving party, expression unreadable. "Thundercracker..." Starscream says in a low voice.
Overclock doesn't climb off as much as stand up from the saddle position she's taken on the Seeker's fuselage. The femme's high-performance hybrid frame clashes with virtually anyone around and conspicuously absent is any kind of Decepticon regalia on her frame. Eschewing any proper formalities as Starscream approaches, she takes a moment just to be glad that her boots are on the ground again and step aside so Thundercracker can get up as well. "Oh thank Primus, ground..."
Thundercracker can't wait for her to get off him quick enough and once she does, though he loves his jet mode, he transforms and spies his brother straight away. OF course he get there first, he is the fastest. He huffs a bit and strikes an indifferent pose, "Well Im here." he says looking at the other Seeker.
Starscream 's optics narrow and his glances briefly over at Overclock. "Get out," he says simply. 
To his brother, he smirks. "Took you long enough."
Overclock's expressionless face meets Starscream's instruction with a defiant growl and she turns silently to his brother. She's taking orders from the blue one today.
Thundercracker stares at starscream and mentally repeats mockingly 'took you long eough.' Slow and steady wins the race as the say." even if it doesnt make any sense. Then he says, "She can stay if she wants. Shes here to decide if she wants to join the cause. I say she can stay."
Coming up from below, yet another Seeker decides to join the little party: He's red and white like Starscream, with the blue exchanged for charcoal black. His body language and demeanor suggest that he is one laid-back dude. "Yo! Starscream, Thundercracker, sup guys and--" His optics go straight to Overclock. "-- Helloooo nurse."
Starscream frowns at Thundercracker, but doesn't comment. He looks very put out by all this sudden company. Oddly, he seems anxious rather than angry. "..." He glances over at Overclock, then over at the newcomer Red Wing and looks uncomfortable. "Not now." 
He then suddenly grabs Thundercracker's hand and starts leading him away from others.
As quickly as Starscream grasps Thundercracker's wrist, Overclock grasps his. The femme's name isn't just for show and she takes an iron grip on the Seeker Commander and digs in her heels to resist his retreat. Her visor turns again in a silent question to Thundercracker.
For the boisterousness of his arrival, Red Wing receives neither look nor comment as the Insecticon's attention stays on Starscream. He does however make her tail twitch; she definitely heard that last part.
Thundercracker has his hand taken by his brother and then Overclock grabs Starscreams and holds her ground. He looks from Starscream to Overclock, "Its ok. I got this." he focuss on Starscream, "You are going to try and talk me out of taking Megatron's offer. But if you are too busy doing whatever it is that you do, why should you care? I mean for once I get to do something -- for once I get to be something."
Red Wing looks between the other two higher ranking Seekers and just exhales. "... Looks like it's gonna be one of those nights." He rubs the back of his neck. "So uh... new femme - you okay? Need anything? You're gonna have to wait on these two to settle things, they've been like this as long as I can remember."
Starscream doesn't answer Thundercracker. He doesn't even look at him. He flicks Overclock aside sourly, not bothering to look at her either. 
The seeker grips his brother's hand tighter and continues to drag him along, ignoring everyone else for the time being.
Thundercracker isnt sure exactly what Starscream has in mind but decides to go with him and get this over with. "I got this." he says again to anyone listening and follows his brother.
At Thundercracker's instruction, the black-armoured femme lets go and returns her clawed hand to her side. "If you say so. Radio me if that changes," she offers, her gender more apparent in the light lilt of her voice than in her frame, although even it is underscored by a bass note that accents the occasional hard consonant. With that matter settled one way or another she turns to the Seeker that's more her own colour as Starscream pulls his brother away.
"An audience would be nice, or information," she requests, straight to the point. "If not, somewhere to wait... please."
"Sure! Follow me, we'll go the mess hall. I can get you whatever you need," Red Wing offers Overclock. "So uh, didn't get your name there - mine's Red Wing. Pleasure's mine."
The beastformer in the room looks around briefly as if she had a real choice in staying, then nods to Red Wing and follows the Seeker, claws clacking against the floor as she walks. "I'm Overclock."
"TC says you're interested in the Decepticons?" Red Wing asks, making small conversation as he leads Overclock across the landing strip towards the lift into the base. "Not that I can blame you after yesterday. That was slagged up."
"So whats so important you gotta pull me away like this?" Thundercracker asks as he follows. "IF its about the position Megatron offered me, well everyone will find out about that soon enough so why all the secrecy?"
"Not a single survivor inside that whole Primus-forsaken crater, we both checked," Overclock adds somberly as she walks at the flyer's thrusters. "Two on the southern edge by the time I arrived."
"So where'd you come from, Stanix? Lotta beast formers in Stanix. Insecticons too," Red Wing asks, trying to continue to make conversation.
The non-sequitur draws a pause from Overclock as the femme mentally shifts gears, taking the opportunity to draw her mind out of the wasteland she arrived from. To the observant eye, her frame is mottled with dust and ash from the debris that have wedged themselves in crevices and around joints to escape the cursory cleaning she gave herself before coming. "Good guess. I'm still a hatchling... of sorts, but I'm fully capable."
"Nothing wrong with that. We're all brothers and sisters here," Red Wing grins. "Well, most of the time, you know how kin can fight, haha." He taps his chin and looks down at OC, walking a circle around her. "You uh, wouldn't want to go get cleaned up would you? I mean, I'd start gettin' the 'itis if I had to sit around with ashes crammed up my intakes. Can't imagine it's comfortable."
"I wouldn't want to waste your resources," Overclock declines, finding the laid-back Seeker a refreshing change from his brothers and returning the favor in her own way. "It's not a grime I'm ashamed of, and there's not enough to slow me down."
"Seriously, it's not a waste of resources. It's -cleanser-, you can find that anywhere," Red Wing grins. "Besides, there's oil baths! You could soak awhile!" And I could watch you!
"I could use one of those," Overclock admits thoughtfully, tapping her chin with a claw. After the marathon sprint she's put her systems through recently, it's only young age that's keeping the femme's abused joints from creaking. "It wouldn't hurt to be more presentable either."
"Well follow me then! We'll get you squeaky clean, fuelled and feelin' like a million shanix!" Red Wing energetically encourages. Mentally, he is going over a wide selection of smooth moves he can attempt to make.
Oblivious to the plans forming in Red Wing's mind (perhaps for the best), Overclock accepts the detour from the mess hall to a hot bath. As may be the masked femme's default, she follows silently.
Category:Autocracy