Making a Name

++ Altihex ++

There comes a time when the era of words is over. When there is nothing left to say and the only logical course of action is to rouse oneself from one's seat and take \*action\*. And it is time that has finally come to the Decepticons. It is time to strike back- not simply to save one of their own, be part of a group raid, or to take leadership from a despot- it is time to strike out on their own as one unified force that breaks through the world's carefully built walls and screams a name-/// Decepticon///- loud enough that even the willfully deaf have no choice but to hear. It is time to let the real agenda begin.

Soundwave is here tonight, though he keeps watch from afar. Still disguised as a loyal servant to Senator Ratbat, he cannot afford to be seen yet. That doesn't mean he can't help though, and the outlier watches from somewhere nearby. From a nearby window of an empty building he can monitor what happens tonight without giving himself away.

Blast Off is here as well. It was he who found this place. He who fought Blurr and discovered that this building, home to the Sky Spy network, was secretly developing technology that would allow it to install spy technology IN someone's very /optics/ without them even knowing. It was just one more abuse of power from the senate and a system that seems thoroughly corrupted- yet is determined to keep that power in any way shape or form.

The Decepticons are here to do two things- one, make a statement. Let the senate know that they are angry and they're not going to take it anymore. But there is a second agenda too- they know this place harbors terrible secrets- what further secrets might it hold? What people or places might they discover links to here? So they may look like angry hooligans here to run rampant in the building to some- but this is an intelligence gathering.

Blast Off waits for a signal not too far from the Sky Spy network building. As do other Decepticons, who mill about. But they doesn't make a move- not yet. Megatron is here, and the Decepticons await his commands.

Deadlock enters from Petrex.

Megatron has indeed decided that tonight a statement was going to be made. One that would show the senate that these 'Decepticons' were not just vague rumblings of disgruntled lower class and disposibles and nothing they could do was going to silence them. He knew of the tech being developed to put spy technoloy into someones optics without them even knowing. It was the Rebel Leader wanted to turn around and use against them.

But tonight was a time for action, I time to see what else they could find out but all in the guise of a half organized terrorist run. Megatron knew Soundwave was nearby and he kept his mind open to pick up on anything the Outlier may wish to convery and visa versa.

"Alright everyone." Megatron said quietly, "I want this 'attack' to look serious but not.. organized. I want information -- what they are doing but I dont want it to look as if we are as organized as we are. Are all all clear on this?"

Zephyr hangs back a little bit and keeps to the shadows, sending her drones out ahead. After all, they can be easily replaced. If she falls, perhaps one of her drones will inherit the leadership role, but it won't really be HER anymore. While she's not so full of pride that she thinks she's any more important than anyone else, she has no wish to die. The freedom and equality she is fighting for will be even sweeter if she is still alive to enjoy it.

Three drones, equipped with spears, take their places amongst the general Decepticons; their wings are tucked away so they look small and insignificant. In fact, they're probably quite beneath notice for the most part, being obviously insectoid. Zephyr is hoping for some element of surprise. They will sprout their wings to sew confusion. At least, that's her plan. Though, appearing disorganized might be a bit of a large order. She will do her best though; a leader must be followed.

Keeping to the shadows on the far east side of the complex is the recently renamed Deadlock, watching and waiting for the right time to move forward. His crimson optics survey the area, on the lookout for any Autobot patrols who might interfere with their operation. His right hand resting readily on his blaster, he presses himself against a crumbling wall, out of sight for now.

Well if the Decepticons are here to make a statement, then so be it. Let it be known across the face of the planet, that they are not just dissenters, or protesters, but full-on -terrorists- who aim to destroy all that Cybertron knows and loves. Who inflict suffering on the innocent. Who try to solve the world's problems with the very same methods that were used to create them. They are not just misguided any more, they are -dangerous-, and they -must- be quelled.

And so, the cameras are rolling tonight. Blast Off had stolen sensitive intel from Blurr, and thus the state suspects there will be an attack. However, they have not sent as many reinforcements as one might perhaps expect them to. Yes, they've sent a few. Namely, Arcee, Torque, Quickswitch, and of course Blurr--though he has a -different- objective this time around. Are they simply not expecting a very heavy assault? Or, perhaps...the more likely reason is that they'd like to make a spectacle out of it. They want the world to know what kind of mechs the Decepticons are. How heinous, savage, and full of sacrilege they are. How they brutally slaughter innocent factory workers who are just doing their jobs.

-This- is the perfect opportunity. After all, that would be rather difficult if they were -vastly- outnumbered, right?

At the moment, Blurr is in the heart of the complex, sitting in the main server room at a large terminal. There are serveral dataslugs jacked into the system, and he is quickly downloading the entire database onto them. Once that is finished, he plans to wipe the entire network clean and take off with the drives. If he's lucky, Arcee and her team will be able to distract the Con strike force enough to allow him to slip away unnoticed. He checks the exterior surveillance monitors, but they haven't picked up on any hostile presences yet, so he clicks open a comm to Arcee. << How's it looking out there? Any sign of hostiles yet? >>

Airazor is new to Cybertron and its insane politics. However, a lifetime of hunting among actual wilds has taught the marshal to recognize when things are about to go down. She's currently in her falcon mode, circling high, high over the city of Altihex. It provides nice thermals and the air traffic is relatively light at her altitude. Indeed, one would think her gyrations are almost lazy in their apparent effortlessness, the maximal circling slowly over the general district where the attack is about to take place. Having no intelligence or connections of her own, it's been up to Airazor and her optics to figure out what's going down. As good as any spy satellite, she watches things develop. Take action? Warn someone? Why, the marshal is out of her jurisdiction.

Arcee has plenty on her plate. Prowl's dropped a whole lot of responsibility on her shoulders, and she feels obligated to not screw up. She's heard about the recent clashes between Blurr and Blast Off in regards to the Sky Spy, so they've had ample warnings. At the moment, she's positioned herself outside of the facility, scanning the area for hostiles, and there's more than a few 'hits' coming up. "<< They're definitely out here, but I can't tell yet how many >>" she tells Blurr as she checks the charges on her weapon.

Then, she puts a call out on the Autobot frequency: "This is Arcee in Altihex, I'm going to need any backup in the immediate area to report to the Sky Spy station as soon as possible. We're going to need some defensive power, and soon."

Torque is worried, to say the least. She didn't at all expect to be asked out on some sort of mission, but then.. she did promise Orion Pax that she'd help however she could. Plus, it fits to have at least one medic on a team, so that alone explains her presence here.

"I still think it's strange that the Decepticons would attack this place first. I expected them to hit something bigger. But then.. I guess if the drones are out of commission it'd be a boon to them." The medic attempts to strike up at least of a moment of conversation with her new teammates, feeling a tad awkward right now given she's just met them not long ago.

Quickswitch looks on ahead, trying to spot where the Decepticons are hiding. He's saying little to nothing to anyone and he's so serious about it, would anyone bother talking to him> ",,,,"

Soundwave monitors \*everything\*. Or at least he certainly tries. The outlier and telepath uses his gift to scan the area now. It's been a bit quiet- almost too quiet. The Senate must surely be expecting something, and yet there aren't exactly a legion of armed guards out on the doorstep. But he \*does\* pick up one thing- a familiar face. Or more accurately, familiar thought pattern. He radios back to Megatron: << Suggestion: Use some caution. No obvious forces present visibly but there is a sense of... anticipation and wariness detected. I recognize one presence in particular: Blurr. He is a known Senate spy. He is somewhere inside the building. He /might/ be attempting to sabotage the information we are here to get. >>

Megatron listens to what Soundwave just conveyed to him and looks around cautiously. It is too quiet and it does seem rather light on mechs guarding this place. The miner senses a trap and he glances over toward Blast Off <<"Blurr is inside...">> he looks around again. <<"Deadlock, created a diversion, Zephyr, Blast Off get inside -- The Outlier will give you the coordinates for Blurr.">> and the Gladiator prepares to join Deadlock in creating a diversion.

"<With pleasure>" Deadlock radios Megatron back smoothly, a devious chuckle escaping him. He doesn't leave the shadows just yet, instead, he climbs to the top of the complex, still staying out of sight.

Once situated behind a conveniently located ventilation unit, Deadlock gains visuals on the Autobots. "I hope you all like surprises," he whispers quietly. A devilish half smile graces his features and he leans forwards, optics flashing ominously as he tosses out several grenades in the general direction of the Autobots outside the complex. They roll to a foreboding stop a few meters away from where Arcee is standing.

This isn't Blast Off's first "rodeo". The Combaticon - a former Primal Vanguard and a Combatronian warrior, after all- has particpated in many strikes like this before. He's an experienced sniper, flier, and space warrior. And he's ready to DO something. He's tired of running away in the shadows, of always being pursued and set upon. Arrested, wrongfully (and sometimes not-so-wrongfully) accused, never given a chance anymore. Losing his high society status and finding himself stuck in the rust pit that is Kaon. Now it's /his/ turn to make the first move. To continue this course he started by stealing that information from Blurr.

However- there's also a dichotomy at work here that is all too familiar to the sophisticated shuttle. This is indeed a /change/. A more...aggressive one. After tonight, there may be no going back. No more claiming full innocence from a system that's simply out to get him. No, tonight he is part of an orchestrated strike. And the irony that this comes shortly after he ended up almost heroically \*saving\* part of the city of Nyon from blowing up isn't lost on him. It's that old and familiar inward battle between the warrior and the gentlemech. But tonight the warrior wins. But it's for a good reason- even a ...heroic one. This will be the beginning of a change that will send this corrupted system to its knees, so that all may have CHOICE once more. And that's all he's ever wanted- the freedom to CHOOSE.

The shuttleformer looks up as Megatron addresses him, and his violet optics flash a little at Blurr's name. Figures. Well- he stole information from Blurr once, he can do it again! He radios Soundwave, who has a sense- though not an exact location- for Blurr. Glancing towards Zephyr, he makes a little "follow me" gesture and starts heading up an alleyway towards a back window. Firing up his anti-gravs, he hovers upwards towards the window, where he'll try to get inside and find the racing mech he keeps clashing with again and again- almost like fate.

The fluttercon is much less conflicted. She is resolute, and this radiates to her other clones which are, for the most part, simply an extension of herself. Moving to mingle with them, to the untrained eye, she would look like just another drone. A mere glance of the optics wouldn't be able to discern the leader, and she's banking on that.

Intercepting Blast Off's look, the quad of Insecticons follow Blast Off, watching his back while he tries to gain access to the building. It would take a very skilled individual to snipe the sniper through the protective ring of robotic butterflies.

<<Understood. Just keep a sharp optic out. If you see 'em, shoot 'em. Or at least keep them off of my back. >> Blurr replies, and continues downloading the data. Suddenly, alarms sounds as the Decepticons reveal themselves. Come on, come on...couldn't this thing go any faster?

Aside from the Autobots, there are a few security drones native to the factory itself patrolling the perimeter, but not much more. When the hostiles approach, they open fire, though they are not much for firepower. The alarms are still shrieking, and a few security mechs come running, but they are kind of the equivalent of mall cops. Inside, workers are frantically searching for places to hide, having been taken completely by surprise. Funny that the state knew the terrorists were coming, but didn't warn the workers. Oh, that's right. They wanted a show.

Airazor may be able to see from above the Decepticon strike force approaching the facility. Should she get involved? It would seem that innocent lives are at stake...if that is a concern for her.

Arcee hears a quiet sound, just in time to glance over and notice the grenades. She only has time to leap out of the way, and she tumbles forward, carried by the momentum of the sudden explosion. This saves her from getting blown to smithereens, but out here, every action carries a price. Taking cover behind a bulwark, she begins sniping in the direction from where the grenades came. Now, she notices her scanner is positively lit up with bogies. "<< C'mon guys, here they come, let's take them out! >>" she says over the radio. She definitely has a long way to go before she's any ounce of a commanding presence on the field, but she has to begin somewhere.

[Combat:] Arcee misses Deadlock!

As the Decepticons reveal themselves, Quickswitch rears up on his puma hund legs in a challenging roar, the beast leaps and lands in a furious and elated and pleased and primal roar. He transforms to jet mode to harry the enemies on the ground! "Let's see how you like this!"

Explosions! Now this is getting interesting. "Trouble with the neighbors again." Airazor observes. There are dangers to becoming involved in Cybertronian affairs, who's to know if the individuals inside the plant are really innocents? Ultimately, something about the attacking Decepitcons seems to persuade her, and the marshal begins a slow descent. Airazor corkscews downward by tightening the radius of her rotations, optics trained on the butterfly and her various drones. An insecticon is something she knows about.

So much for idle conversation. Torque's attempt is rebuked by the interruption of a handful of grenades suddenly raining down from on high, the femme reeling and quickly backpedaling before diving along with the others. Landing hard on her front, the medic remains there for a moment, her hands over her head, until her mind is slammed back into reality and she scrambles behind cover with Arcee.

Frag, frag, why was she even called here? She can't even fire a gun! The darn things were too unweildy, in her opinion. Though one would be quite helpful right now as chaos begins to ensue around them. So right now she's left a sitting duck while the enemy remains out of reach.

Soundwave continues his monitoring, sending information to Megatron as he gets it. Though at this point Megatron will be able to see a lot of this for himself. << Autobots present and attacking. Workers inside are confused- surprised. Not warned. >>

[Combat:] Quickswitch misses Soundwave!

Swindle has been here all along, honest! He lurks near Blast Off, in order to back up his Combatibro. He's not sure whether participating in this will cut into his profits, but hey, maybe he can salvage a few things afterwards.

Granades, Autobots, Rent a Cops coming out to defend the place.. really? Megs just walks out from the covor he had like hes out for a walk. He lobs off a few shots at the rent a cops and then sees the large animal mech; the Puma. "What have we here?" he asks no one as he sizes up this Autobot. He heads toward the Puma. "Arent we an obedient lacky?" he asks in a taunting manner. <<"Deadlock, dont make this look too organized but --">> he cuts of his comm communique when he noticecs Swindle. "What are you doing here?!" he asks abruptly. He hates appearing disorganized but this appearance truly is a surprise. Nothing that would phase him normally but hes goig to run with it. "Get back here and defend our position. That is an order!" what position? Well let the autobots think they think they have a position...

Blast Off works to get the window open- not the easiest thing for a shuttleformer who has no strength to write home about anyway. But with a lockpick you don't always need strength anyway, and the Combaticon succeeds in his task, aided by a quartet of butterflies. With a soft \*shtick\* he moves the windowpane upwards quietly, then gives a quick nod of thanks to the Insecticons. As he does so, he catches sight of Airazor up above and stops, optic ridges furrowing. What is that? Or possibly... who? For now, though, whatever-or whoever- it is doesn't seem to be interferring with them, so he breaks away and starts making his way inside, leaving the window open for Zephyr and her clones, and possibly anyone else who might come after! Once inside, he starts scanning for signs of Blurr. he certainly knows that signal by now.....

>> Zephyr rolls one ten-sided die and gets: 5.

>> You roll one ten-sided die and get: 4.

"<Heh. I don't even know the meaning of the word. I do whatever the hell I feel like, whenever I feel like it>" Deadlock grins, transforming and driving down the roof, using the angle of the roof as a slope as he gains speed. The gutter on the edge of the roof angles upwards slightly, allowing Deadlock an upward ramp up as he accelerates off the roof, aiming to use his bodily force to ram Arcee.

He protoforms midair and pulls out both of his blasters, releasing a volley of shots in an area attack on Arcee, Torque and Quickswitch.

You wanted to meet Deadlock? Well, here he is, gloves off and guns blazing.

[Combat:] Deadlock misses Arcee!

[Combat:] Deadlock hits Torque!

[Combat:] Deadlock partially hits Quickswitch for minor damage!

Innocent is in the optics of the beholder. How many 'innocent' Insecticons had been worked to death and experimented on by Hollows? How many precious self-awares had been terminated because the surface dwellers couldn't stand the thought of an Insect as intelligent as themselves? Zephyr admits she has some prejudices against surface folks, so if some of them get hurt while she's making her push for equality, then so be it! However, she doesn't exault in violence or indulge in sadism; her attacks will be purely functional. If the workers don't get in her way, she will be content to leave them be.

While waiting for Blast Off to get in through the window, or do whatever he's doing, she flicks a glance at Swindle. Her expression doesn't change as Megatron calls him out; she just shrugs her shoulders.

Zephyr and two of her clones enter in behind Blast Off, but the fourth stays in the window to keep an eye on the flying individual and also to hold it in case they need to leave fast. She doesn't personally know Blurr, so she watches Blast Off to take the lead.

The system alerts Blurr to the fact that a window on a lower level has been breached. "Slag it," he mutters. The progress bar is 3/4 of the way full. He may just have to break things and cut the download short. << Frag it, we've got a breach on the first floor, southeastern quadrant, sector beta. >> He comms the other Autobots. << Get the workers to safety, and make sure those slag-faced glitches don't get to the server room. >> Hmm...he turns to some of the controls for the factory's automated systems. Some of them are bound to have some kind of remote control. The racer hits a lever...

Once inside, the Decepticons will find themselves on a mezzanine above a massive network of conveyor belts, gears, chemical vats, fuel tanks, and other massive moving parts. There are also a -lot- of factory workers running scared. Terrified when the Decepticons enter, they rush for cover but most of them have never been in a situation like this before, so suffice it to say they are just tripping over each other and running into everything. If they had any kind emergency evacuation plan in place, no one actually -knew- it. Suddenly one of the colossal arms used to work the drone assembly line swings away from the conveyor belt it had been working on and comes hurtling toward Blast Off and Zephyr! It appears to be some kind of welder, because those claws look hot!

[Combat:] Blurr misses Zephyr!

[Combat:] Blurr partially hits Blast Off for minor damage!

Torque didn't want to stay out of the fight, naturally, but she wasn't terribly used to a full out fight for life and death like this. She was a brawler, damnit, she fought for fun. Unfortunately that time is over now with war cresting the horizon and shots suddenly ringing out in the air.

"Ergh!" A blaster shot scores her chest armor as Deadlock descends upon them, making the femme quickly stagger from her cover, a hand over the scorched wound. Though.. she pauses when she sees who actually hit her. "You.. You were at the Forge!" She exclaims, surprise steadily shifting towards anger and dentals gritting together. "So this is how you Cons are gonna do things, huh? Just destroy whatever the frag you like and hurt people? Well I'm not gonna let you!"

Righteous fury flares bright in Torque's optics as she roars and charges for the assassin mech, her uncertainty overtaken by the instinct to fight. And fight she does, attempting to get up close and personal and aim a solid haymaker to his face, her fist almost shaking with built up strength.

[Combat:] Torque misses Deadlock!

Arcee quickly ducks back behind the bulwark when she sees Deadlock preparing to strike back -- but then she winces as she sees Torque and Quickswitch take a few shots. Since Torque is a bit closer to her, she makes sure the medic is back behind the bulwark and (hopefully) out of harm's way. Also, she winces inwardly; that was DEFINITELY a screw-up on her part; her priority should have been to keep the medic safe! But there's LOTS of priorities going on right now, like...such as...oh yes, such as the breach inside the tower. Wasn't she supposed to prevent that? Oh, and there went Torque again, heading out to attack Deadlock herself -- so much for keeping the mech safe! Wow, this was a lot to process.

Prowl was probably going to be disapppointed. Not much she could do about \*that\*!

"Uh...Okay. You seem to be...okay. Fine." Arcee is torn for a moment between helping Torque and heading into the building, but then she heads toward the open window. Maybe there's still something she can do, here! Maybe it isn't all lost. Maybe...

Spotted! The outbreak of gunfire, armed incursions, and other signs of disorder, with an insecticon at the forefront no doubt, has finally roused Airazor into action. Not that there's anything terribly complicated about her attack: the falcon stoops and then dives. Her target appears to be the insecticon currently watching her, Zephyr's drone left out in the open. It doesn't matter to Airazor that her move is telegraphed: her dive is incredibly fast, taking advantage of gravity and then some, a bolt out of the darkness. At the last moment, Airazor's talons flash, using her speed to try and take the drone's optics, if not her entire head. Hit or not, Airazor powers through, pulling up to gain more altitude.

Quickswitch hears the taunt and immedately shifts back into beast form. He leaps, slaws outstretched and body careening toward him. The shot hurts but nothing he can;t ignore. Sheer gleeful happiness at the fight is within Quickswitch, and a barrowing irritation at being called Lackey. He roars loud as he can at Megatron and takes a swipe at the Con Leader's face!

[Combat:] Quickswitch hits Megatron!

[Combat:] Airazor hits Zephyr!

Soundwave watches that new recruit Deadlock. Something is... a little off about that mech. However, he is proving useful to the Decepticon cause- and fearless, too. The telepath observes- then looks to Megatron and Quickswitch. Scanning the new individual, he reports his findings to Megatron. << The puma mech is... chaotic in thought. It is almost like several thought patterns crammed into one mind. >>

Swindle's optics flicker as if blinking. <<Whatever you say, Megatron>> he radios back as innocently as possible, perhaps a little too innocently. He makes his way back to where Megatron and the rest of the troops are.

Megatron hears Deadlocks reply but before he can reply hes shot in the face by the mech he was taunting. His head snaps back and he takes a step back. Then he laughs, "Did I hit a nerve servo?" he raises his cannon to fire <<"Free for all. Lets not stay too long. Glean what you can quickly, Blast Off.">>

[Combat:] Megatron partially hits Quickswitch for minor damage!

Blast Off picks up Blurr's signature immediately. Not THAT surprising, if you ask him- he knows the signal all too well. He begins to make his way along the mezzanine, gaining on Blurr's location as Zephyr follows him. And like the Insecticon, he doesn't bother with workers... as long as they run or hide, he remains focused on his task- find Blurr. He carries his blaster now, though, and remains ready to fire should he meet any attack. One panicking worker manages to run into the support of the mezzanine, causing Blast Off to stumble and glare down at him- just as that welder comes hurtling towards him and Zephyr. He catches in the corner of his optics \*just\* as it enters his "personal space". He tries to scramble back but his injuries from Quantum's bomb the cycle before, though patched up, cause him enough trouble so that he isn't able to completely evade the thing. It \*clangs\* right into him!

However, he has JUST enough time to swing his arms up defensively- and those arms have heat shields from his shuttle mode. The scorching claws ought to do far more damage than they actually do against a mech who's alt can withstand 4,000 degrees F in shuttle mode. He stumbles back, catching himself just in time before he goes over the edge into a molten vat below. Heat shields or not, now THAT would have hurt. With a huff, he springs back to continue on his mission- find Blurr! Though the strike slowed him down a little bit... But Zeph didn't get hit at all! He responds to Megatron, << Understood.>> and continues on.

Zephyr does not particularly want to be hit by the hot claw. Deftly she manages to move out of the way. Mentally she orders her drones to take on the piece of machinery while she looks for something a little more /personal/ to combat against.

Two of the drones are sent to 'herd' the workers to keep them out of trouble while Zephyr herself hovers around Blast Off to follow his lead.

Oh, he recognizes Torque alright. The pathetic medic from Kalis who was refusing to fight in the pit? Yes, he remembers her disgraceful cowardice alright. Now she aims to strike him in the face, which is dodges easily, sideswiping to the left. "And you'll continue to let the government puppet and walk all over you. Well, save your pity. For yourself." Cha-chink. The empty ammo shells clink to the ground and he reloads his blasters, one aiming for Torque and the other poised to fire at Quickswitch, in case his mighty leader needs assistance.

[Combat:] Deadlock hits Torque!

* he

Blurr notices Airazor's attack against one of the Insecticlones. Heh, nice. He'll have to thank her later for picking the -right- side. He watches with satisfaction as the arm smacks into Blast Off. And then there's a brief sound from the terminal, signaling the download complete. Aha. "Too late, slag-lickers!" he chuckles triumphantly and swipes the datachips he was using. Now, to get the slag out of here without any of them getting the jump on him. He quickly inputs the self-destruct command, though it is more of a virtual self-destruct than a physical one: more of a virus that will corrupt all the data and render it extremely difficult if not impossible to salvage once it was through. Dashing over to a window, he blasts through it and jumps out, skidding down a slanted roof toward the ground. If the Cons are fast enough, they may be able to stop the data corruption before it reaches completion. Or they may be able to catch Blurr. Being fast sure comes in handy tonight, doesn't it?

As one of Zephyr's drones tries to herd the workers, they just become more panicked and start -attacking- it, trying to hit it with crowbars and fists though they're probably not doing much damage at all.

Damn, this mech's fast. But that shouldn't come as a surprise, by the look of him. And it's that sort of speed that forces Torque to take another round of Deadlock's blaster, the shot lancing through her shoulder and making her bite back a howl of pain when taking a step back. "Erf.. I'm not about to pity a mech who willingly attacks others." She grates at him, wincing as her hand squeezing over the bleeding wound.

Torque may not be as fast as Deadlock, but she can more than serve as a distraction for right now to keep him from going after Blurr. So, digging her heels in, the femme springs for him again, this time using more tactic to weave around the mech's gun and throw a feint before following with an uppercut to dig right into his lower jaw.

[Combat:] Torque misses Deadlock!

Airazor often feels that a quick strike is the most satisfying, especially when you come away with a bit of optics stuck in your talons. The falcon powers upwards, stalls, and then slowly turns over to take another look at the battlefield. This she does just in time to see Torque take a second shot from Deadlock. As he was on the same side as the Insecticon, Airazor apparently deems him an acceptable target. She dives again, building up a bit of speed to try and strike a glancing blow against the back of Deadlock's head. Again, hit or miss she doesn't linger, soon flying away over the facility. Boom and zoom, baby.

[Combat:] Airazor misses Deadlock!

[Combat:] Blurr partially hits Deadlock for minor damage!

Soundwave at this point is still observing the situation from afar and reporting to Megatron anything he believes might be useful. But he can't afford to give away his hand just yet, so for now he remains in the shadows. It's where he's most comfortable, anyway.

Blast Off finally catches sight of Blurr- just as he sees the racer upload something, grab datachips, and take off. OH NO YOU DON'T! The Combaticon took data from Blurr once, he'll do it again! He lifts his blaster immediately. "Zephyr- get to that computer and try to get the data- quick! Look out for sabotage." Hopefully Zephyr can take care of the computer while he does what he seems called so often to do- shoot at Blurr! The sniper carefully aims- and fires at Blurr just before he whisks out of sight, trying to knock those datachips out of his hand.

[Combat:] Blurr partially blocks your attack and takes less damage.

Quickswitch snarls and the shrieks that erupt from his voice are frayed to their tips with outrage, "Don't call me Lackey!" "Don't call me lackey!!" The next transformation is into pistol mode, "....Lackey I am not..." and the pistol fires at Megaton.

[Combat:] Quickswitch partially hits Megatron for minor damage!

That's okay, the drone can dodge or deal with the pittance of damage coming from the workers. As long as they're concentrating on the drone, they won't be stopping the Self-Aware and her fellow Decepticon from doing what they need to do...which just got harder.

Zephyr is momentarily taken by surprise at Blurr's speed, but Blast Off's words bring her back to the land of necessity and she rushes over to the computer, hoping to get anything she can from it that might be of use.

>> Zephyr rolls one ten-sided die and gets: 5.

Deadlock grabs the fist aimed for his face and twists it hard backwards, thrusting his knee forwards in an attempt to knock Torque to the ground and pin her down. He leans forward, opening his ventilation shaft to allow a cold rush of air onto her neck cables, whispering in her audio receptor, "Like I said. Pity yourself then. You'll need all of it." He laughs deviously.

[Combat:] Deadlock hits Torque!

Blurr skids down the roof and lands smoothly on the ground, as Blast Off's shot start after him. A few of them graze him in the elbow, but don't do much damage. He subspaces the dataslugs and transforms, quickly accelerating toward top speed. The Combaticon will have to do the same in order to keep up!

<< I'm out of here. If the rest of you can't push them back, retreat to Altihex HQ. This facility is one in a million anyway. >>

Torque doesn't seem to be having a very good day, but fear not, it is of great use to the state! A Decepticon beating up a poor, defenseless medic! How terrible! This will definitely look sporting on the public broadcasts!

Unfortunately for Zephyr, she is not fast enough to reach the server room before the virus completes its work. A few of the workers had gotten in the way, foolishly, thinking they were trying to defend their jobs probably. The data isn't gone, but it will take some serious work to salvage.

What the.. Did he just catch her hand? Torque is completely caught off guard by this move. No one's caught her hand before! It surprises her so much, in fact, that she doesn't even see the knee coming right for her midsection. With hard grunt she buckles at the strike enough for Deadlock to gain the upper hand and knock her down to her back.

That hurt, but it's nothing she can't shake off and stand up from.. except she can't once she sees the Con actually leaning down over her and getting so very, uncomfortabley close. Is.. is it wrong that she gets a bit flustered? Especially when that cool air hits her and the malice in his voice forces a shudder down her spine. This mech is insane..

..But that's not going to stop her. Balling her hands into fists, Torque's amber optics flash in defiance and her words bite the air as she growls at him. "Rrgh.. Back off, mech!" And like any person would do in a situation like this, she launches foreward from under him, aiming to smash her forehead squarely into his face in a full on headbutt.

[Combat:] Torque hits Deadlock!

Airazor misses Deadlock, but continues on. The falcon stays low to the roof of the facility, presenting a low profile for follow up shots. When none come she gains some altitude, only now looking back, just in time to see Torque headbutt the darker mech. Part of her wants to bug out, leave these Cybertronians to fight amongst themselves...but, having intervened, Airazor can't simply leave what looks to be a common worker bot at the hands of a gun-toting warrior in league with an insecticon. So, she turns back, and transforms. Not the biggest of bots, Airazor still has a martial style to her. The maximal pulls up short of the fighting pair and raises her arms, weapons emerging from her wrists to lay down a bit of fire. Given that Deadlock is tangled with Torque, she's not exactly trying to hit him so much as let him know that she's there and shooting.

Soundwave takes note of this new individual- this falcon- who seems determined to interfere. He makes a scan of her mental patterns, too, seeking thoughts or emotions.

Blast Off fires- and it's a credit to his sniping skill that he is able to hit the racer at all. However, it doesn't do as much as he'd hoped, and Blurr zips right along. It doesn't LOOK like he dropped any chips, but there's only one way to tell.... The Combaticon edges closer to the window, watching Blurr go, firing off one more round at the racer before turning to look for any dropped chips.

[Combat:] You miss Blurr!

Zephyr will take whatever she can get and sort out how useful it is later; that's the Insecticon way. At least, in her mind it is. While she certainly doesn't like failure or defeat, she's also not going to beat herself up about it. When she's got whatever it is she can out of the system she signals her relatively uninjured drones to follow her to the window, where they take the 'blind' drone between them. And out the window they go.

Blast Off is only a good sniper against people who can't move as fast as Blurr, it seems. The shot goes wide, missing the racer, who speeds off and disappears into the rest of the industrial sector. However, it seems that he did drop one of the dataslugs...what more disturbing research awaits?

Megatron is surprise when this mech transforms into a ... pistol? His surprise though doesnt prevent him from movint at least partially out of the way as the pistol fires. Nonetheless the Decepticon leader takes a partial hit in the side. He regains his footing, the side hit not facing the mech. He sneers through his energon smeared clawed face, "Whos senator to you belong to?" he asks and decides to take this physical. He spins around for a kick at the barrel of the gun and catches Blast Off firing at.. a blur. <<"Blast OFf, report.">> he comms over as he unleashes a kick toward the gun

[Combat:] Megatron partially hits Quickswitch for minor damage!

"Nngh.." Deadlock grunts as Torque's helm strikes him squarely on the forehelm. His grip on her loosens a little as he slides backwards, his upper torso falling to one side, and his knee now slipping down between her legs.

However, he regains his composure after a moment, and he turns back to Torque and grabs her neck, laughing a little again. as he draws oddly near again. "If I didn't know any better, I would say you kinda /liked/ that." Then he releases her. "Until we meet again, /Autobot/." And he transforms, speeding off towards Megatron.

Blast Off finds that one datachip. Ahhh... finally! The shuttleformer reaches down to pick it up with a flair of triumph! Ok, very /muted/ triumph, since Blurr got away with the rest. But perhaps with this, and whatever Zephyr was able to salvage... they'll find /something/. He looks back to watch Zephyr leave, then receives Megatron's radio message, replying, << Blurr got away with a lot of the information, unfortunately. But I did get ONE datachip, and looks like Zephyr has retrived what she could from their database. We are leaving now. >> And then he does just that, exiting the factory for the second time- and again with one datachip. Hopefully it will lead to something even BIGGER.

Soundwave finishes his work as well, slipping back into the shadows to think about their next move. And the Decepticons have indeed made a name for themselves- though what that name means will depend on who speaks it- and what their motives are.

If Deadlock hadn't gotten up after falling aside, he would have been in a prime position for Torque to get into wrestling mode. Seriously, you don't wanna get trapped in one of her holds.

Trying to scramble back up now, and avoid the helpful potshots from Airazor, Torque is caught up again as Deadlock moves like lightning to grab her by the throat and lean in to speak creepily to her again. "Ngh.. Fragger.." Her vocals wheeze at him and teeth clench, but before she can attempt another punch, or even try to pull him off, he releases her and begins to flee.

Staggering back once let go, Torque grunts and rubs her now sore neck while glaring in Deadlock's wake. She wants to persue him, but.. Blurr is already gone, so she should probably follow suit. Looking to Airazor, the medic nods thankfully and smirks. "Thanks for the assist, stranger. Let's get the frag outta here, yeah? I owe you a drink for that." She likely won't take no for an answer, but she isn't about to stick around and dispute it. Instead she aims to get out of here as fast as possible, already transforming and racing off.

Swindle slips back into the shadows as well! Darn, he didn't get to shoot anybody! Oh well, next time!

If Airazor derives any satisfaction from seeing Deadlock drive off, she doesn't show it. A small smile is reserved for Torque, though she doesn't share any words. Just a pair of fingers to the golden portion of her helm and a salute. Then the falcon also transforms and flies off, away from the chaos.

Airazor teleports to an out-of-character location.