The Undergrid - A Forgotten World

[Muezick]

~Beyond the gates of undergrid between Kaon and Iacon~

Starfire heard Chase and couldn't believe chase had asked her that. She'd be happy to oblige but she'd always thought of chase as the type to puff up when danger was near, be bold and not back down. Then she smirked when she heard Chase tell her to not slagging thing about it.

"Don't hate me to much Chase."

She mouthed in response, as she picks Chase up and sets her on her shoulder plate. Chase would have a comfy near birds eye view of the scene, with Starfire's wing to lean on and since the shoulder plate was attached to Starfire's torso first, her arm movements wouldn't jostle Chase to much, though she kept her arm tightly wrapped at Chase's legs. Chase can complain later, Starfire is absolutely responsible for her best friend down here and it's dark, there's no room to fly and she isn't taking chances. Chase should probably know that her new position on Starfire's shoulder was non negotiable.

To Darkfire's growly demeanor, Starfire could only grin and respond in a some-what flirty, debonair way.

"Nice to meet you Darkfire, Nice Curves."

She winks at the other femme seeker, then her attentions return to the situation at large. Their resident psycho taking point, with the others moving at a steady rate. Starfire had her weapons hot and her transistors ready to open at a moments notice. She's not completely inexperienced in these types of situations, but they still bother her since she's just slightly claustrophobic due to her heavy dependency on the sky.

"Just guessing here, but wouldn't it be faster if the ground bound bots used their vehicle modes so the lot of us could get there quicker?"

No self respecting flier had trouble keeping up with a ground bound bot, and over all their progress basically determined success or failure of the mission over all, if they didn't deactivate the defenses in iacon tower before megatron and Orion got there, then they'd probably be wiped out pretty quick. A tiny malicious voice in the back of her head secretly wishes starscream would get there first and get wiped out, but she knows better than to wish for that, her brother is a coward, he'd run from the feild before walking head long into death on the hope his secondary and tetrary teams were successful.

[zaphead1]

~Undergrid~

Ghost stared at Fox almost infuriated by her answer. Was this fem serious? Did she really not understand how a rebellion of this nature worked? She was surrounded by heavily armed individuals for Primus' sake!

"Youhave an army...Where do you think all these weapons and supplies came from? You think a guy like Megatron or even this Rexacon just waltzed in there and told everyone to get out before stealing and destroying everything? Where do you think your 'Armada' got its ships from? There were mutinies, there were murders, and outright betrayal. Good people died keeping their oaths to Cybertron, people I knew..." Ghost noticed the glances from Darkfire. "But I'm sure your sister can tell you aaaaaall about that..."

Ghost turned away from Fox and towards Starfire. After which, he noticed the odd amount of fire surnames.

"While that would get us there faster, it would leave the majority of our group vulnerable to attack. Since this place its known for its vicious lifeforms, it would be unwise to break our defensible positions."

[Magma]

Undergrid
As soon as Starfire answered, Chase knew she had said something she shouldn't. Don't ever joke about things like that. Star lifted her and put her onto her shoulders, but Chase wasn't visible anymore by that time. There was no fraggin' way she was going to sit all visible up there like a sparkling. She did not try to get down though, it would just be more awkward if she did and Star might catch her and put her up there again. Better just to stay.

,,Ya just had to, right? Ya just had to fraggin' do it... and stop annoying your new partner, I seriously doubt that you will get any flirty response".

Chase smacked Star lightly in the back of her head. She doubted if the seeker could feel it at all, but she did it anyway. Just to keep her in line, so to speak. Looking around, she did honestly like the view, although she couldn't use it as much as others. Her injury was severe, making it impossible for her to aim and focus, but that was her secret.
Chase turned her optics towards Ghost, still keeping herself cloaked, and she had to agree with him in the alt-form vs. walking, but she didn't say anything. She did not really like his presense, since it seemed like no one fully knew who he was. Looking into a dark sideroad of the Undergrid, she saw the fain't light from optics before they hurried away. It was probably just Traders, using the grid to get around without having to worry about enforcers and guards; no threat there.

,,To answer your silent question, Star, I just don't like places were I was nearly offlined. The Grid is one of them."

[Foxfire]

Undergrid

Darkfire glanced back once to see Kol instead of her sister. His position immediately angered her, but she kept a tight reign on her emotions. When he flashed his optic at her, her own widened slightly. He was warning her. Something was here, and she had been too distracted by that idiot to notice. She completely ignored Starfire and her questions. Every sense that Darkfire had was strained to an extreme trying to detect the threat.

Where would she hunt? What angle of attack would she use when attacking a group this size alone? How many targets? Reduce their numbers. Strike at the weakest then work your up up until there was only one left. Then take it. Assessment of threats. Kol was a drone and appeared weak. He could be one. Foxfire was always a target. The little femme Starfire had brought along. The big Autobot too, perhaps. However, if it had been her, Darkfire would stay away from the large one until other threats were disposed of. Where would it strike? From behind? Possible, but certainly not the best option. Not from the front. The side tunnels perhaps, but that wouldn't be efficient for keeping up with the group constantly as was necessary before the initial strike. No. Darkfire knew where she would strike from.

Her optics narrowed slightly as the Ghost situation escalated. She needed to deal with him now before Foxfire asked any questions and before this thing decided to attack. Darkfire slowed her pace and drifted down to Foxfire, Kol, and Ghost's level.

Foxfire looked up at her sister as she fell back. Ghost's harsh retort had confused her. Darkfire had always checked the buildings they had been forced to blow up. Frowning, Foxfire looked up to her sister.

"What...what does he mean, Darkfire?"

"Ignore him, Fox. His kind are always talking garbage."

Darkfire glanced over to Kol. It was her way of saying that the message had been received. Turning to the side and away from the two, Darkfire approached Ghost, scowling irritably. She gave him a hard glare and send him a private transmission while speaking softly.

"You just stay away from my sister and stop bothering her, got it punk? Or else, I'll ram my claws down your vocal processors."

>>"We're being followed. Don't give any sign that you suspect. Be aware, and for the love of Primus, don't do anything stupid to make me regret telling you. Also. Never speak to my sister again or your actual punishment will be one thousand times worse a fate than that pathetic threat."<<

Darkfire feigned a disdained expression, returning to a path near her sister. She sighed heavily and continued on her way, apparently annoyed at the goings on. She sent another secure transmission to Kol.

>>"Kol. Whatever is here has likely targeted you as prey because of what you are. If you fall behind slightly, it will probably attack you. Do you think you can deal with it alone? It will probably come from behind but not on the ground."<<

[zaphead1]

~Undergrid~

Ghost was taken aback by Dark's opening comment.

"My kind? Just what the frak is that supposed to mean?" He gripped his assault rifle. Clearly something was going on here and he didn't like it one bit.

Ghost glared at Dark through his visor. Listening to her private transmission and setting up background scans on his visor in order to detect the supposed threat.

"And you need to relax. I assure you, you don't want to be at the end of this barrel..." He gestured to his rifle. "You know my Captain has this saying about your 'kind', 'There comes a day when the liars of the world can no longer hide from those they've lied to, unable to escape the consequences of their actions. They are doomed to fall.' Hope you're good at running, cuz when she finds out, there will be hell to pay..." With that, he cut the transmission and blocked all private lines to Dark.

Ghost moved forward in the group, positioning himself to cover the Autobots. They were civilians and his trust for the Decepticons was at an all time low. He was right when he had told his Captain about their name. Deception was their game and they sure proved to be good at it.

[Laser]

Kol didn't pay too much attention to the conversation between Foxfire, Darkfire, and Ghost. It was none of his business in the first place. He'd offend this...Ghost character...no doubt, if he spoke out of turn. No, he was looking for whatever was following them. He'd already failed a mission, sort of, and there was no way he'd let a fatality fall on his shoulders before they ever got to Iacon.

He caught Darkfire's approving gaze and realized she had acknowledged his warning. A sharp one indeed. He received her transmission, and replied back:

>>"My thoughts exactly, Mistress. Judging by our current formation, there is is a 47 degree angle of defense on all both sides. Attacking the lead would be illogical...stragglers are indeed the key. I have a pretty good idea what I'm looking for....I will drop back. Slip away and set yourself up for ambush. You'll know when to strike."<<

Kol simply slipped away, undetected from the group and disappearing to the rear almost immediately....

[Rexacon]

Blackout continued walking behind Rexacon as Deathdancer pulled in front and was waiting for him. Blackout kept the same pace as there was no need to chase after her. If she was to go off by herself then so be it. There was no need to chase someone who would disobey orders and go off on their own. Blackout looked over to Rexacon as it seemed like the journey was forever.

"How much longer?"

Rexacon continued leading the group as the commotion of the team had annoyed him. He ignored it though as his mind was completely on the mission. Getting the team to Iacon was top priority. Rexacon visor glowed as Blackout had called him.

"These mazes are long and tricky, getting to the right place will take time. Be patient."

~~

Shadow continued watching the team as he crawls on the ceiling of the tunnel. Watching the group bickering at each other was amusing as he goes through tunnels to make sure he doesn't get spotted. Shadow had watched as the drone started to fall back. An obvious trick to an obvious bait. Shadow ignored Kol as he continued following the team by going through different tunnels.

[Muezick]

~undergrid~

Starfire continues walking, she notices a few of the other bots behaving strangely and keeps her optics peeled.

"I know that Chase, but i gotta try.

She said in private transmission to her invisible friend.

[Magma]

Undergrid
Chase leaned slightly towards Starfire's wings as she looked at Darkfire. Honestly, she didn't know what to think about the assasin; she only knew some facts about her. The seeker was an assasion, capable of cloaking and presumably sister to the smaller Foxfire. Not much to go from. Her behaviour did concern Chase though; she suddenly seemed more on the edge than before, almost over the edge. Was something wrong? Looking back for a klik, Chase couldn't see anything, but there was the faint noise of pedes onto the cold metal surfaces down here. Even if the group stood still it would be there, it was always there, making you concerned, scared if you would.

Ignorring the ongoing talk between the sisters and new arrival Mr. Ghost, Chase suddenly saw that the Drone was missing. Had he fallen behind? He could have, but it didn't make much sense if he had. Maybe he just wasn't as clever as Chase thought? So many questions, but no fraggin' answers. She wasn't going to do anything though, if he had fallen behind, he had fallen behind. End of story.

Up front the, in her mind giant, Rexacon basicly said that getting to Iacon would take it's time. Seeing that she obviously wouldn't get down from Star's shoulder anytime soon, she leaned forward, albows on her knees, and started to go through everything that had happened today, trying to figure out what could have happened in the blind spots. She stared into nothing as her processors took on the task.

[concentratedrandom]

“Where am I? I can’t see a thing in this darkness, nothing at all. I can’t even see my own body here. How damaged am I? I can’t feel any pain, but I can’t move my legs either. I need to get out of here and find some energon. I need repairs, but I don’t have enough energy, right? Oh wait, all my drones killed themselves…”

Stockpile was injured, low on energy, and alone. This was the first time he was alone for a long, long time. His drones were always there for him, but not this time. Now there was no one at all, and Stockpile didn’t like that. He wanted someone to be with him, but he hated everyone and wouldn’t let go of the past. Suddenly he heard footsteps echoing throughout the darkness. Was it the bot that had defeated him with what looked like ease? He wanted company, but not one who would kill him.

“I better lay low; I can’t let him find me."

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/

Starport was very uncomfortable in such small areas. He couldn’t even stand up in these tunnels; he had to crouch to get around. I could be worse though, he could be with cruel Deceptions. This group seem nice to him. Maybe a little trigger happy and such, but still nice. The fact that Autobots and Deceptions were working together was an amazing one, and maybe this could turn into peace for the future. Starport still couldn’t see a diffrenct between the two divisions; they were all transformers living through hard times. He didn’t like it down in the undergrid though. He felt like there were eyes in the darkness, watching them, waiting for them… But that’s ridiculous, there is no one watching them.