Escape from the Institute Part II

From the tunnels beneath Nova Cronum, the strike on the Institute begins. Far above, where windows look out into city streets, all is normal ... if a bit crowded.

Within the halls are busy, with a rather remarkable level of heightened security. Enforcers sent by Sentinel Prime himself patrol the halls. And yet our heroes -- because that's what they are, heroes, here to free those unjustly held by a cruel and corrupt system -- are not entirely unwarned. They might be pretty shortly warned, but they are /warned/. There will be trouble.

They can handle it. ...right?

Yeah that's right, Knock Out is a HERO. He is a very reluctant hero who is not particularly happy to be here. If his partner were not also present, it's very likely he /wouldn't/ be here. "IS this all starting to feel like an increasingly bad idea to anyone else?" he wonders in a dry tone from the back of the group. You guys go first. He's the medical support.

Breakdown's answer to the question of whether this is a bad idea is answered entirely in the pound of his fist against the flat of his opposite palm, a low noise ground from the depths of his throat like the hitchy grumble of an engine resolving only into: "Heh." He's ready to go. Each clanky step vibrates with the suppressed energy of a Breakdown ready to start breaking things down. Or, in this case, maybe ... breaking ... up? Since they're coming from tunnels. So ... up.

"A little too late to be voicing your concerns, Knock Out," is all Sixshot says as he looks to the medic then up the tunnels. For the moment he hasn't drawn his weapons as he looks to Megatron. Once again he judges their leader for a moment before finally adding, "Just point and pull the trigger." Probably not obvious to all but few that have seen all his forms as he moves forward.

"Don't tell me you're losing your neurocabling, doctor." Megatron glances over his shoulders at the smaller mech to the rear. "You've witnessed enough oilsport and welded up enough spark frames; don't tell me your struts are buckling now. We'll get through this."

He turns towards the bulkhead doors that separate the access tunnels the Decepticons occupy from the halls of the lab inside. He suppresses the urge to shudder. He can't be too disappointed at Knock Out, as he must wade through the sour miasma of his own fear to accomplish this task.

"Take your fear, Knock Out, and reforge it into rage. Every vile thing you've seen the Autobot authorities do, every time you've been beaten for the crime of your own caste, every time you've been struck for having your own spark and mind - grab hold of it. Hold that rage until it burns like the smelting fires of the Pit itself, until it burns out of every seam and joint in your body. Let your anger at this injustice be the fuel they deny you! RAISE YOUR WEAPONS AND LET THE SLAUGHTER BEGIN!"

Drawing back the fist he holds in the air, he shoots it forward and into the bulkhead. \*KRUNK!\* The metal buckles and whines. \*KRUNK!\* It shreds and billows out like a burst bubble. \*SKRREEEEEE!\* It groans as Megatron forces the doors back, peeling them like the skin of an orange, stepping out ino the halls to face the waiting guards.

Soundwave follows after Megatron, his spark soaring with anticipation- though you wouldn't know it to look at him. He seems as resolute and quiet as usual as he slips into the halls. The outlier spent most of the last few days gathering as much intelligence and bringing together as many plans as possible, in anticipation of this grand endeavor. For this is their first big operation, and Soundwave wants this to be a success. He wants the Decepticon name to mean something important. Something organized; something to be respected.

The clamor of an alarm rings at the very first shot, but it is far, far too late for warning. Besides, who is there to tell? The welcoming committee has arrived, is in place.

The door gives way reluctantly, but it gives beneath the force of Megatron's rage. As soon as the doors part, blind shots pierce the dark to sizzle and splash on the tunnel walls, and on a miner's armoring. The hall within has been cleared. There is a distant sound of light feet racing away as technicians and labworkers left behind as sacrifice flee the promise of violence.

There is no cover in the hall and no doorway that would allow the invading force to hide from the first rain of fire that hits the front row. Enforcers are lined in disciplined ranks: two across, three back, a small squad deployed just for them.

"Yes, yes, I'm still walking, aren't I?" Knock Out is considerably less poetic in his expression than his grand leader, and he physically flinches when the talk of slaughter and the ripping off of doors begins. "Primus. I thought we were supposed to be the quiet ones."

When the door gives way, he bravely ducks behind and let's the fighters in front go first.

Quickly moving in as the door is ripped open proves to be a bad idea as Sixshot is greeted by a hail of gunfire. Raising his arms up to block the shots before shifting into his wolf mode. Opening his jaws wide as he leaps forward, letting loose several laser blasts from his mouth.

Megatron transforms straight into tank mode. Let's do some mining, shall we?

<< Sixshot, Breakdown, three pronged attack; I'll charge the middle, Breakdown you flank left, Sixshot, to the right. Shoot to kill, torso and heads and draw their fire, we'll see which one of us they prefer as a target.>> The orders are coming over the radio fast and furious. << Soundwave, try to get one of the guards and pull him behind us, scan his mind. I want to know what these guards know, maps, prisoners, numbers, troop movements, anything. Knock Out, stay behind us, and when this wave of guards falls, salvage weapons, energon, IDs and antyhing useful from them as you can.>>

The lasers are scoring black marks along his chassis, but what does he care? Pain is his -friend-. He plows forward towards the center of the guards to mow them down, a roar of concussive plasma belching from his cannon.

Breakdown gives Knock Out the briefest of smiles behind him in the beat of an instant before they're in motion, narrow-eyed and bright. Then he turns, lowers his head, and pounds after Megatron hot on his heels. The last time he launched an assault on an Institute, however ... precision-based and focused that strike, he had no weapons but his deep well of fury and his massive metal fists. Now he has a gun, gripped in his point-fingered hand like a precious treasure that he is shortly going to use to murder somebody. He roars forward, firing as he charges to the left.

Soundwave nods to Megatron, "Understood." He doesn't waste any time- he's not one for small talk, after all. The big blue mech makes his down the hallway, pausing to press a button on the top of his chest. From that, his chest compartment opens up and two condors soar out. "Laerbeak, Buzzsaw, Eject. Operation: Capture." He keeps back, not being a warrior himself, but when Megatron plows into the guards Soundwave and his bird friends take the opportunity to converge in on one who falls just a little too close. Working together, they try to grab the guard and drag him where Soundwave can place his hands on his head and read his mind.

It seems, perhaps, that for all the warning the enforcers received, they were not warned to expect such /ferocity/. All the discipline in the world can't hold in the face of a beast, a tank, and a Breakdown.

At a sharp command from the middle figure in the rear, the enforcers fall back rather than be trampled beneath Megatron's treads. It is he that they prioritize as a target -- to one's surprise ever -- and a sharp word from one to another suggests that they've also been identified: "--isn't that--," is lost beneath a sharp scream as two of the front row fall to their fire.

The last of the front enforcers twists as Soundwave attempts to capture him, unloading a shot on him at close quarters.

"Yes, excellent idea." Knock Out agrees with your orders, Megatron. He offers a fierce smile in reply to Breakdown's, but then is left to watch his partner's attack from the relative safety of behind.

Megatron knew that he would be targetted first, and that is why he spent time having Hook thicken his armoring before all of this. He knows that there is a good chance he will fall, but it will not be without a significant cost to the security forces in this abomination of a facility. Transforming back to root mode he grabs the body of the first fallen enforcer by the legs, and swings him like a two-fisted cudgel at the enforcers immediately in front of him, attempt to hit multiple targets as he beats a motherfragger with another motherfragger. Small gashes and black burn marks are appearing more frequently over his torso and upper body.

Quickly transforming back to root mode, Sixshot glares at the mech that was just silenced. Originally he did want to keep out of the spotlight but the time for that has long since past. As the guards focus on Megatron he studies their formation for a moment. Finally pulling his hypersonic concsussion blasters from subspace he takes careful aim as he adds in several shot at those attacking Megatron.

Soundwave tries to grab the guard, but his grip slips and the mech is able to reach for his weapon and fire. The shot knocks the communications officer back. Soundwave's birds go for the guard again, swooping down. Buzzsaw attempts to cut into him with his sharp, serrated beak. Meanwhile, Soundwave tries to pick himself up and lunge for the guard again... he will NOT fail in his mission!

Breakdown takes another shot with his weapon, but his inexperience with weapons in combination with his excitement for mayhem is clearly showing. He doesn't quite discard it, but does return it to its place. Instead of shooting with his gun, he chooses his battles: transforming to his vehicle mode, he roars forward in a particularly noisy advance, angling to treat his target like a particularly unsightly obstacle he plans to smash in a demolition derby. It's an attack based primarily on his mass.

Well, that's -- that's certainly an effective attack. It's a /novel choice/, but it means that the second row of enforcers aren't expecting it. Megatron clears two at one blow.

One of the back trio -- a fine shot, one who has scored a number of the hits -- goes down with the focused shot that Sixshot takes, leaving three up in a rapidly breaking formation.

And one left up front, pinned down by Buzzsaw, curled up in a ball and kicking and flailing to try to get the cassette off. There's not a lot of dignity in it, but it is /stunningly/ effective at preventing Soundwave from getting hold of him.

The last of the formation scatters under Breakdown's charge with a few potshots in his direction. Then they turn and pelt down the hall, with the mech who had earlier called orders now giving others elsewhere in the building an update.

Knock Out actually does consider things like helping on the rare occasion. He considers Soundwave and the cassettes fighting with the flailing guard. But nah, they look pretty fine, and he has orders, after all. To stay back. Where it's safe.

<< There's the leader, do you see the one giving orders and talking into his comlinks? That's the one we want. Alive, if possible, >> Megatron radios to the others. "AFTER THEM!" he roars to the other Decepticons. All of the Decepticons except Knock Out, of course, who gets the privilege of field dressing the kills.

Ah, yes. Field dressing the kills. Knock Out just ain't gonna be carry all this loot. Weapons? Energon? IDs? There is SO MUCH that is useful for the little red decepticon to pick off the corpses -- or near corpses, it'll only take a cut line or two to get rid of the near -- of the fallen.

Breakdown revs his engine with a noise halfway between battle fury and delight, at the combination of his foes scattering before his charge and his orders to pursue. He hurtles into the hallway in pursuit. VrrrRRRRRRRRRM.

Soundwave is almost getting frustrated now- not that he shows that or anything. He simply doggedly, determinedly tries again- this time pushing that button and bringing \*Ravage\* into the mix, for EXTRA assurance. If he can just get his hands solidly on the guard.....

Sixshot's optics narrow as the group scatters, letting Breakdow give chase before turning towards Soundwave and the flailing guard. He looks about ready to go over and smack the fool mech in the head but quickly turns as orders are given. Subspacing his weapons he quickly runs forward before transforming into what looks like a off-road speeder as he gives chase.

The addition of Ravage to the mix changes things up, allowing Soundwave to thread his hands through the cassettes pinning the enforcer down and get his hands on him. A few pertinent facts leap immediately to Soundwave's attention: the enforcers were warned, the enforcers were ready, and by the way, the building is wired with explosives. A lot of them. And now they have footage of the Decepticons to use to pin the blame on them.

It's clear that Breakdown and Sixshot -- particularly in their alt modes -- are more than fast enough to catch up to the enforcers. This also swiftly becomes clear to them. They turn to make a last stand, the other two enforcers flanking their leader. All three unload on the approaching warriors.

Oooh, loot? Knock Out finally peels away from his little hidey-corner to start assessing the bots left behind. Checking for exciting, fancy things, and seeing about draining some of that energon. Mien now. Oh, sorry, were you not quite dead yet? He'll help with that.

"Soundwave, report," Megatron says as he walks over and past the slain to to Soundwave. "What's in this turboworm's head?"

Taking fire as he roars in pursuit, Breakdown barely feels the burn from the cracking of impacts against his surface, painting cracking and splitting with the force of impact. He spins onto his side, narrowly missing one of the guards in a move that very nearly tread up his side, and reverts to root mode even as he hits the ground again with force near enough to damaging the floor. "You're gonna pay for that," he tells the guard who hit him with a mean look in his eye, although really. It probably doesn't mean financially.

Soundwave works to focus- to concentrate- as he keeps his hands directly on the guard's head. "They know we were coming. They are prepared. They have..." His optic ridges furrow down slightly. "This place is rigged with explosives." He proceeds to send Megatron and the others every map and diagnostic he is able to pull from the guard's head. "And they plan to use this operation's footage against us. To frame us."

Ravage just SITS on the guy's chest, grooming a paw nonchalantly.

"What are you--? No! Stop!" The guard twists, trying to kick Ravage off and get to Soundwave to stop him. Unfortunately, he is new here, so Soundwave receives only a suggestion of the map: an outline of the basic structure, hallways, rooms. It's not clear which rooms are what. Fortunately, he's new here, and he helped set those bombs up! In very short order, Soundwave has a full picture of where to find them.

Sixshot swerves a bit as the hits connect quickly recovering as he transforms back to root mode, feet skidding across the floor. He lets Breakdown keep the others occupied as he focuses on the leader. His strategy becoming clear as he leaves his weapons sheathed, focusing on his metallikato training as he attempts to knock the mech down with a leg sweep.

The guard sneers at Breakdown, because he and Sixshot are totally outnumbered, three-to-two, and they can TOTALLY TAKE THEM. "We'll see about that, Chuckles. You thugs are going to regret ever poking your heads out of your mines." He steps forward to slam Breakdown with the butt of his gun.

The squad leader blocks the leg sweep, but rather than move in for a melee exchange, he reverses to open fire. The other of the remaining two guards falls back with him -- but one is caught up in a sneering exchange with Breakdown and misses his cue.

Breakdown swats aside the thrust of the guard's gun with the flick of pointed fingers, lunging forward to get all up in his face with the smash of his heavy-knuckled fist. He would not win a prize at the ballet for grace. His sneer is pretty good, though. "That the best you got, pipsqueak?" he says. The guard is probably not a pipsqueak. Witty banter is not his job.

Gun swatted from his hands, the guard lunges for Breakdown with a hard shoulder into his side. "We're going to /erase/ you," he hisses. "No one's going to remember your names as anything more than petty thugs and fanatical terrorists, swiftly put down."

"You done with him yet?" Knock Out calls over to Soundwave as he rifles through a corpse's personal belongings and siphons off some energon.

Watch out, Knock Out. You never know. One of them could be high on circuit speeders to give them an edge in combat.

With Megatron busy with guards, it is left to Soundwave to take command for a moment. He leaves the other Decepticons to continue in their capable... or not-so-capable at times, but who's he to talk after missing twice himself?... jobs.

Meanwhile, the Communications Officer sends a quick radio message to the Autobots who are part of this grand endeavor. <<Warning: Building lined and charged with explosives.>> He almost leaves it at that, then remembers that these ARE Autobots we're talking about. <<Do NOT allow the explosives to go off.>> He sends whatever pertinent information and maps he is able to gather. Then, that said and done, Soundwave points towards the guards, sending Ravage and the birds to assist the other Cons in the attack. He looks to Knock Out. "Affirmative."

Thug thats what Stunticons are, Sixshot is something worse especially if these mechs fully recognized him. No doubt if any survive Sentinel will be demanding full confirmation that it was the cyber ninja among the terrorists. But personally he no longer cares as he rolls aside to dodge the shots.

Getting back up on his feet, he unsheathes his sword and looks to the one still standing with their leader. As Megatron wants one of them alive, he focuses on the less important one aiming to take off the mechs head.

"This ain't about /names/." Breakdown hauls back, both fists coming together after the scrape of impact to hammer down atop the crown of his assailant's head with the concentration of all his might. He cycles up to roar in time with the blow: "But you're about to learn /mine/--"

Ravage and the birds arrive just in time to help secure the squad leader: the gun is torn from his hands, the mech's hands secured. To either side, the remaining enforcers go down.

With a gentle sort of thump, the enforcer Sixshot faces falls to his knees. The movement jars his head, with rolls slack-jawed, eyes already going dark, to spill bloody and messy across the hall.

The last enforcer crumples, broken and down, as the force of Breakdown's blow fells him. Something snaps deep within -- something that really shouldn't snap -- and he topples forward with a slick spill of energon from within.

It is suddenly very quiet. Except for the alarms. And the labored breathing of the squad leader -- engine hot, fans stuttering with something like panic. "They'll never let you get away with this!"

Ooh, maybe one of them will have circuit speeders on them to loot! That's a promising thought. Knock Out swans over to the guard Soundwave was just dealing with and smiles a very unpleasant sort of smile -- "Don't worry, it'll just be a moment." -- before finishing up with him.

When he's done, he lifts his head to the relative quiet (minus the alarms). "What now?"

"No, I just--!" Probably took the job for the benefits, but we'll never know. Knock Out puts an end to answers.

<<Leader secured.>> Sixshot quickly sends back to Megatron though he is half tempted to just be done with them as he places the blade of his sword against their neck as he says to the remaining guard, "I suggest being quiet." He quickly sheathes his weapons before looking around, "Even with those above attacking, surprised they left so few down here."

The leader laughs at that, sword on his throat or not, but quickly shuts up. One might get the idea that the quiet is not likely to hold from that little, bitter snicker.

Breakdown toes at the fallen shell of the enforcer with one foot, satisfied at the mess. "It's Breakdown," he tells the crumpled mass of scrap that was once his opponent, and then turns aside in the comparative quiet, looking to the others.

Soundwave stands up, satisfied that the situation is under control for now. He turns to the Squad Leader. "You will tell me where and how we can diffuse the bombs." Before the mech can even speak, Soundwave's hands are reaching for his helmet.

"I've got a pair of talented hands, if you need help with that," Knock Out offers Soundwave, wingering his special, special fingers demonstratively as he makes his way over towards Breakdown. "Tsk. Look at what you've done to your finish."

As the others deal with squad leader Sixshot turns to scout around. Optics scanning the area as he checks the map Soundwave provided, a single blaster coming out of subspace, "Knock Out not the time to worry about appearance. We may have more company coming soon."

"I will not." The leader throws himself back, away from Soundwave's reaching hands. He keeps an eye on Soundwave's fingers, and slaps his own hands back to cover his neck. He's watching, waiting for that silken slide of needles, never thinking that all it might take is a touch.

And then it's done, and his mind is open. The answers are right at the tippy top of his thoughts: there are two stations for detonators that will set off each of the bomb clusters planted through the building. Removing the detonation chips will be tricky work. It'll take talented hands. And getting there is going to be a fight. Because the reason they aren't being attacked? Is because the stations are being /fortified/.

"Yeah, well, he got mouthy with me," Breakdown grunts at Knock Out with a little shift of weight that becomes the partial shrug of one shoulder pauldron.

Soundwave feels a bit of triumph as the thing that gave him so much trouble once, so much difficulty... can now be used against the type of people who once strived to keep him and his friends down. His mind reaches in, and with the close contact he can push aside the other mech's defenses and easily see- everything. "There are two stations for detonators that will set off each of the bomb clusters planted through the building"... He concentrates some more. "They will not be easy to remove. Warning, Sixshot: The reason there are so few here is because they are fortifying their defenses at the stations."

He takes a moment to look at Knock Out and his flick of fingers. "....Feel free. However, those 'talented hands' may be needed soon to help with bomb diffusing."

"That's actually what I meant," Knock Out replies to Soundwave with a hint of dryness. "I didn't think you needed help disposing of anyone." He does frown at the news of /fortifying/, which is not very encouraging. He glances at Sixshot with the barest twitch of a smirk. "There's /always/ time to think about appearance."

Sixshot stops at the mention of fortifications while ignoring Knock Out. For the moment he waits for order as he looks towards the two locations.

As the moments pass, the enforcers consolidate elsewhere in their positions. They are just a handful, and against who knows how man-- oh, wait. That's a squad leader in Soundwave's hands. Yep, no, never mind. They know exactly how many. They know where, they know how many, they even know how they are armed and what their likely tactics will be. There is plenty of information for Soundwave to peel from the horrified enforcer's mind. And yet, there's a timer -- and it's ticking.

As quickly as the first enforcers went down, the advancing Decepticon force now approaches entrenched mechs and femmes who /expect/ to be facing tanks. The first position that they take is an especially fierce battle. The enforcers there --three squads strong -- are led by a tall, strong-voiced femme in heavy golden armor who calls her commands with a clear voice.

It takes every spark to win that battle, and no one is more surprised than Knock Out when gets the first clear death on that field, putting an end to the life of a mech fallen under Breakdown's fists. Soundwave and his cassettes tear through the forces, but Buzzsaw takes a hit that puts him out of the fight; while Sixshot ends no lives, he carves guns from hands, limbs from bodies, and opens a path through the ranks for Megatron to finish clearing the field. The clock is ticking, but with Knock Out there, one chip is removed.

The actual ring of real battle and the tick tock of detonation under his fingertips is enough to wipe some of Knock Out's more inappropriate humor. Even with Soundwave having precise instructions for his clever fingers, it's not an easy process; but his hands are steady and without waver, and he manages.

Breakdown never doubted it. Bloody-minded and fierce, as soon as the first chip is removed, he revs with abandoned intensity and roars ahead, charging forward on Soundwave's map-appropriated direction right into the affray of another heavily-fortified position. "Let's see who's /gettin' away/ with any of this," is the tune to which he sneers.

Soundwave nods to Knock Out. "Very well then. Sending coordinates." He reaches further into the Enforcer's mind, gathering every bit of information he can. Somewhere, sometime, he might have been a little unsettled by this... by the sheer brutality... but not right now. No, he is only focused on the job at hand. Once the information is gained, he again sends it out to all involved.

Then the battle is ON. When Buzzsaw falls, Soundwave is immedately at his side, scooping him up to make sure he stays safe. Then Soundwave points Ravage towards a big guard, and the feline leaps at him, claws swiping.

Quickly moving Sixshot focuses not caring that he only disarmed several of the mechs. Right now he's more focused on avoiding any attempt at a counter attack. He sheathes the swords and suddenly works to make the guards more confused as all of a sudden there is not just one but six of the multichanger. Drawing both blasers once again as he opens fire.

Precise instructions and clever fingers are all that stands between Nova Cronum and death. The mechs and femmes above may never know that it was the Decepticons who stood in that place between and shielded them from it.

While Buzzsaw will need a medic's care before the day is out, the mech who inflicted the injury will not be seeing nightfall. The last he sees is Ravage's rage, as the other enforcers fall around him.

The fall of the first station breaks the second into disordered panic. It's laughably easy for the Decepticons to fall on the enforcers and tear through them. Only Soundwave himself takes anything in the way of injury, and when the leader there threatens to detonate the bombs rather than allow the Decepticons victory -- well, all it takes is a shot from Megatron to blow off the leader's arm and there goes /that/ threat.

The second chip is out, the threat from the bombs neutralized, and nothing is left but clean-up ... where clean-up means the slaughter of those who would have erased the Decepticons from history, and even from their own memory