Protihex-City state

[concentratedrandom]

Flying after Tecton to their ship, Starport transformed back and landed on a roof. Lifting his foot, he noticed an indent, but it was still stable. Watching as Cutlass landed, he laughed as he walked over to the ship to look it over.

“You know, I’ve seen many bots that can fly one way or another, but you’d be surprised how many can’t land. If you’re made for the ground, just make sure you get back safely. If you’re made for the skies, you’ll always need to come down. So this is your ship? Mighty fine ship, and it’s in much better condition than me. Now let’s get working. Teccie was it? You need help moving your equipment?”

[Cutlass Rebooted]

"Actually it's Tecton, I don't need any assistance thank you." He heads straight into the ship to gather the equipment.
"I only call him Teccie to annoy him." Cutlass transforms, smiling he places a hand gently on the side of the doorway. "Tecton and Volca built her for me. Just finished actually. She's a beauty of a ship, I can tell I'm gunna get through a good many adventures with her..." He trails off apparently lost in thought for the moment, his head starting to tilt downwards. He suddenly jolts upright. "You can help me make space for supplies. I simply plonked as many crates as I could into the hold before I came here." He starts to lead the way to the cargo hold. "After we'll have to head back and forth with supplies, hopefully by then everyone else will have thought of a plan so we can get ourselves moving to that vault thing." He walks in and shoves a crate into a corner to the right of the door.

[Rexacon]

"I'm just saying, he could be or maybe not be. Otherwise Megatron would have had a broadcast showing the extermination of Optimus. The fact that he doesn't means that he is alive somewhere, but your right. We have no means of contacting him nor to find where his location is."

Vibro leaned against the wall when Laser asked what he had seen in his vision. All that led to was to remind Vibro of what was going to happen in the future with worlds being conquered and remodeled.

"Alpha Trion talked to me, he showed me an army conquering worlds and changing them. It was horrifying."

Talking about the vision shaken Vibro up as the bot in the vision looked like someone he had met before.

[concentratedrandom]

Walking in, Starport looked around at the inside of the ship. It sure looked new, he couldn’t remember a time when he looked this good. Picking up a three large crates, Starport started laughing at the sight.

“Moving boxes, sounds like my life. I use to be a delivery ship, doubt my jobs still there though, now that war seems to breaking out. Everyone’s just fighting and killing each other, doing whatever they want. I’ve never seen it this bad. Arg, this crate is heavy. You’d think after fighting in a battle, lifting boxes would be easy, but it doesn’t seem true. But no time to take it easy, if we’re waiting on a plan, we better move fast. They’re smart, they’ll think of a good plan.”

[Laser]

Laser wasn't so sure that Vibro's reasoning about Optimus status was solid, but he didn't bother contradicting. What he truly cared about was what Vibro saw in his vision. The Guardian used to have visions long ago...but none as specific as this, in terms of speaking with an actual Prime...

"So it is more specific than I thought," he began. "You spoke with Alpha Trion yourself, this is great news. Being that he is one of the original primes, he most definitely knows the combination...."

"What if we were to induce another vision...I understand you were afraid, but this is a connection with a Pure One--" Stopping, he explained what a Pure Cybertronian was. "This term is an old one used to describe natives to cybertron not fashioned by Quintessons or have any lineage or direct connection to primes. If we can cause you to spiral into another vision, you can contact Trion and try to extract the information we need....and I have an idea on just how to go about doing that. It is at least another option aside searching for a possibly non-existent Optimus Prime. There is a third option, but it is a difficult one."

*****************

Beam gulped.

"Are you going to kill me now?"

Aeron laughed. "No. I'm simply gonna educate you, short stuff. Sit down."

Relieved on the inside, Beam still didn't let up. As far as she knew, this guy was dead. "You've literally got half a breem to explain to me what the hell is going on."

"I'm gonna need at least two breems."

"Just start talking and I'll see if you deserve more time." Beam felt like a gangster the way she was negotiating with this...well...gangster.

Aeron sighed. "I targeted all forms of infrastructure for almost 15 cycles. I did 500 billion credits worth of damage in dat short time. I can't even remember how many lives were taken...but I did it in defiance of da High Council."

"I'm not asking why you terrorized people--"

"--I was against da government's corrupt individuals, short stuff. Not people."

"Why are you still walking? I saw you get smoked on tape!"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Aeron began to explain. "It was in Iacon, about a millennium ago...."

*****************************

I had a shot at taking out General Ptacon.

He had eluded me for over 12 cycles by then, and was surprisingly smart about protecting himself, regardless of how idiotic he seemed to appear publicly. But after years of sabotage runs in places such as Helex, Kaon, as well as both the North and South Passes, I realized it was time to step up my game. I would make a public announcement...a challenge as to where my next target was...and dare them to stop me.

Why was I doing this? Because I knew my time was running out. I knew that no show airs forever, and everything comes to an end. My end, if not for being killed somewhere, would be from my fatal hobby. I had cancer, short stuff. The radiation from the bombs and materials I used finally got to me, and I was slowly decaying...dying. So I decided I would go out with a bang. Literally.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

"I'm Bron Helix and this is an Iacon Emergency Broadcast! Recently the network has just picked up a foreign interference, and fear that we will be shut offline. Analysts are working hard to discover the--"

That was when my show came on. The one about me, and my next target.

I appeared on every screen in the city, and every form of intercom or radio. I was a celebrity...one that sent people to hell with acts of terror, but still, they were people...cheering for me, Beam. It astounds me still...

"Hello, Iacon. I'm da Painted Bomber. Recently I heard my friend General Ptacon was in town, so I came to visit 'em. As a matta o' fact, I heard he was staying at a very special hotel." I took this moment to switch to a picture of the Citadel. "Da glorious Citadel. I took it upon myself to rig the place with party favors to welcome him. You know, streamas, balloons, dose little midget bots wit da neon hands, and of course little boxes dat blow up in ya face. I went all out, guys. I wanted to make sure dat dis welcoming party brought down the house....literally."

"Ah...what do I see here? Lots o' troops headin' to the Citadel. You guys betta get crackin'. You've got 45 minutes to find 45 bombs...and defuse them all. Which would take...eh, I dunno. 3 minutes a piece? Not lookin' good."

IACON SECURITY HEADQUARTERS

"Where is that signal coming from!?" Captain Vita frantically punched both buttons and his analysts. "Did he just say 45 minutes?? Get me Central! Quick!"

"Central's on the line, sir."

"Good." He snatched up the comm and barked into it. "We don't have enough time."

"He's in the Nova Building. Already trying to establish connection so we can discuss negotiations."

"Shame it has to come to that..."

"Not necessarily. If we play our cards right, we might not even have to give him anything. We could actually nail the Painted Bomber tonight."

"Yeah right. He's probably long gone--"

"--Captain Vita? This is Guardian Sharp. I believe Central Investigation said you needed my help."

Vita swallowed with excitement and caution. This was exactly what they needed. A sniper.

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

I knew CIB and the ISH would try to contact me and talk me down. I couldn't wait.

"Hello?" I said casually.

"Hi, Painted Bomber. My name is Vita."

"Just call me Aeron, man."

"Aeron? That's my son's name. It's a good name."

"I think so. What can I do for ya?"

"Well, that's just the thing, Aeron. I want to know what I can do for you."

"Oh? You mean like, my terms? Well first off I'd love a hooker."

Vita chuckled. "Well, I might be able to help you out with that. Of course I'm not allowed to send an official hooker in there with you, as that would be putting civilians in potential danger....but there's nothing against sending in troops. So I guess I'll just dress up Cargo over here real pretty and send him up."

I imagined Cargo didn't think it was funny, but I laughed anyway. "Dat's hilarious, Vita. But I'd like to remind you dat if in fact I see any troops come up here, I'm gonna blow the Citadel to da primes. You understand?"

"Of course, man. I get it."

"...Ya know what? I don't think you do."

"What?"

"...Nah. You still don't get who ya messin' wit. So I'm gonna show you."

I detonated a trigger, completely blowing a nearby bridge. It slumped and started falling towards the Citadel, stopping short only a few hundred feet. People were screaming and running about, and countless objects fell off of the bridge. Whether they were alive or not, I didn't know and I didn't care. I was going to be respected in these negotiations. Period.

"WHAT THE FRAG--" Vita was pissed and horrified. "What the hell happened? One moment we were laughing and talking and the next you snapped Aeron! C'mon man!"

"Now I'm sure I have your attention, Captain." I leaned back into my chair. "Have General Ptacon sent up here within the next 40 minutes...alone. Otherwise, I'll nuke that glorified museum so hard that people will start calling it the Shitadel. That is all."

EXTREMELY DISTANT ROOFTOP

Sharp looked up from his massive sniper rifle, radioing in to base: "Central...I have eyes on the target..."

[DarkXenith]

"Hold the slaggin' crazy-train just one fraggin' nanoklick, Laser,"[/color] Jumpstart was as quick to interject as ever despite his previous airing of grievances falling on deactivated audio receptors.

"Mech, this guy was two chips short outta joinin' A3 on a permanent basis when 'Wreck dropped him with me in the undergrid not more'n half a cycle ago. He's just gone through some pretty hefty repairs.... now unless you got concrete evidence - an' I mean empirical evidence by that - that you got some safe way t' send him back out on this vision quest or whatever it is, then it ain't riding with me. I will not be party t' inducin' any kind've psycho episode or hallucination in anyone intentionally. Medtech ain't gonna be used that way on my watch. So you better start diggin' f' inspiration I'm afraid."[/color]

There were strict rules governing the use of medical instrumentation and the various different medications commonly held in facilities of this nature and Jumpstart wasn't about to bend those rules any time soon. There were, of course, a good number of medicaments he knew of that could induce hallucinatory episodes, but that kind of occurrence was usually only discovered as a result of a patient having a strong negative reaction to the re-agent in use during treatment at which point an alternative would be sourced. If Laser insisted, the medic would assist with the task but only in so much as ensuring Vibro suffered no permanent harm from the incident.

[Laser]

Laser lay narrowed, understanding eyes on Jumpstart as he protested. "I understand your concerns, Brother. Vibro is hardly ready for a dramatic experience of any kind...normally. But it seems to me that his post-traumatic stress has caused what I like to see as a psychological breakthrough. He has spoken with a Prime, for God's sake."

"My method is purely theoretical. I have my reasons to believe it will work. I also have reasons to believe it will fail. But I can assure you that it will not harm Vibro...provided he has the stones to compose himself. Desperate times call for desperate measures, Jumpstart. This would be a mere and temporary sacrifice of sanity of one individual that could save millions of lives. This is what we all want...and these are the options I'm giving," Laser referred to finding a Prime, trying to decipher the code, or inducing another vision. "But it is not up to you to decide, dear brother. Nor do I have any say in the matter." He looked at Vibro. "It is up to Vibro. What say you?"

*****************

Aeron paused his story to take a long, heavy drag on his blunt. He handed it to Beam. She tried, but couldn't inhale it. It was simply too hard. He laughed and continued his story....

I had the world in the palm of my hand, see? It was amazing just about how powerful I was, sitting on a cheap chair in a humid room in the 74th floor of the Nova Building. All I needed was a switch. A switch that controlled the fate of 2,000 people...

"Nobody leaves that Citadel, nobody enters it. Period. Test me, and I'll blow the place. You guys should understand this. This isn't your first show."

Central Investigation

"Sir, Sharp has eyes on the target."

"Then tell him to take it out!"

The analyst shook his head after a few moments. "He says that he doesn't have the perfect shot...whatever that means."

"What??? Get me Vita!"

Iacon Security Headquarters

Vita frustratingly rubbed his forehead, angry at how things were turning out. It didn't help when Central blew up his comm link, spewing profanity. He answered: "What? What?"

"Get motherfraggin Sharp to take the shot!"

"What?"

"He's got the shot! He's not taking it...he says he's waiting on the perfect shot..."

Vita scratched his head. He really didn't want to tell a Guardian how to do it's job. They were mysterious and fearsome in many different ways, and he was quite fine with not understanding their methods if he didn't have to. Still, it was his job...

"...Sharp?"

The transmission rang through loud and clear. Sharp had been blocking out all noise, through the traffic and Helibots and screaming of people...and now this broke his concentration. "Captain Vita. How can I help you?"

"How long is it going to take for you to get this 'perfect shot'?"

"Captain captain captain," he seemed disappointed, "Hasn't anyone ever told you that you can't rush perfection?"

"Um, yeah?"

"I don't know when the perfect shot will become opportune, Captain. That's why I'm sitting here, waiting on it. I take no pleasure being here. I came to help. It is cold up here, and the Helibots are rather annoying. Yet I came to stop a criminal, and that is what I intend to do. This boy is about receive a reality check...a fatal one."

"Thanks Sharp, eh, Guardian." Vita ended the link and stared at the feed of the Nova Building. For once in his life, he felt entirely confident that he was going to take me down. He was going to finally stop the Painted Bomber...

Or so he thought.

[Cutlass Rebooted]

Tecton enters the cargo hold carrying a heavy looking locked box.
"There's not enough room for this now that I've moved all the equipment." He struggles a little to fly up holding the box easing it onto the top of the highest stack of crates.
At the same time Cutlass drops the last crate down. "I think that's about as much space as we can gain from shifting the crates... Now to head back and tell them the ship is ready for loading up supplies."
"Let's go then." Tecton transforms the second he steps outside and flies back to the medical center.
"What's his hurry?" Cutlass waits outside for Starport to leave the ship.

[Towreck]

Towreck nodded. "I agree with laser, finding Optimus prime is like searching for Energon in a Scraplet Pile, either you are going to find him and have extreme injuries getting him out of wherever he is, or we will waste out resources trying to find him. I say we let Vibro try this...we need a Prime to get into that Vault, and if the Decepticons get there before us, then all hope will be lost. The cube can be our only way of restoring this planet's peace, and rebuilding Iacon." Towreck explained. "Without it, we would be better off living on one of Cybertron's moons" He added, adamant about his decision.

[concentratedrandom]

Walking out of the ship, Starport watches as Tecton flies back to the others. If he’s in such a hurry, he probably shouldn’t waste time. Then again, flying would be wasting energon. Better to take it easy on his opinion, though not laid back. He’s made that mistake before, and hopefully that was the last time.

“Well, if he’s in such a rush, we better get moving too. I don’t feel like flying though, taking a walk sounds better to me. How about you?"