EP 1 (AR) - Where the Pavement Ends - Open

[Deleted]

(OOC: I picked this location after some research into a suitable location. If anyone wants me to change it or had something else in mind, let me know!)

Megatron failed to mention that the coordinates would send them to a flat spat of dust that sort of resembled a town if one didn’t pass by too fast. Roulette literally drove through Gerlach, Nevada doing well over the speed limit by a wide margin. She parked just outside the town on the side of the road near an interstate off shoot.

Luckily humans were stupid and kept their information in a convenient data stream just waiting for someone to reach out and access. While she did her homework on the location, her holo-form made a big show of stretching a paper map over the hood and acted all sorts of befuddled. While she didn’t find the local carbon based insects to be attractive, she was marginally favorable to the figure she’d chosen. More than a few sets of eyes were on her in the sleepy town. And why wouldn’t they be? It wasn’t every day the spitting image of Betty Page, straight out of 1950, graced the streets. Her tight dress even matched the colors of her vehicular form.

Her snooping led her to the conclusion that the town was suitable for shenanigans. Gerlach was in a depressive slump that it wasn’t likely to recover from. There were a whopping two-hundred plus souls living in this dust field. But she didn’t care about the local life forms. She was more interested in the abandoned gypsum mine just outside the town. It was really too perfect. The scraped sides of the depression made a perfect stage for an encounter. And snooping at the abandoned mine would draw interesting attention. This far out, she didn’t think she had to worry about local authorities.

“Let’s go mine for some gypsum.”

[Deleted]

"Slag yeah!"

Whilst she circled at a high enough altitude that her outline resembled a vulture, Fairwind's holoform had kept close to Roulette's. Not her human one - a blonde child with a troubling smile wouldn't have gelled up well with Betty Page. An energetic corgi with familiar purple patterns embroidered on its collar didn't fit much better, but it gave Fairwinds free reign to be inquisitive and scamper.

She could see why Roulette had picked this spot. If she was going to lay a trap, this would be a pretty obvious place to do it so she wouldn't do it here. Stupid squishies, on the other hand, would likely just praise their luck and go all in.

They were definitely in MECH territory but not in a grid they'd been hit in before, and the gypsum was a resource they had mined in this planet before. Their presence wasn't unusual in that respect.

Satisfied with her final check for interfering locals, Fairwinds spun down to land neatly next to the waiting Shelby. "I've got some small-scale explosives to blow off some samples. We'll be all distracted picking up rocks from the ground and scanning them. So terribly, terribly distracted."


<<Was a bit muddled on where Roulette was in relation to her holoform, so please let me know if any of this is wonky! Also, you're more than welcome to puppet MECH, unless anyone else fancies playing kidnappers?>>

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The abandoned gypsum mine was rather boring, in Roulette's opinion. But it made a nice arena. The humans had dug down into the earth making a slanted square plane that led to what she presumed to be an expansive mineshaft in the rock wall. Around them on three sides, leading to the mine, the rock wall was well over their heads by a good thirty feet. In essence the human's had created a literal box canyon.

She'd parked dead center of the leveled yard to survey the area. A thick coating of white dust clung to her tires and to her armor when she took the gambit and transformed to her bipedal mode. While she didn't normally mind grit, it was still a minor nuisance that highlighted another problem with this planet. It was unforgivably messy.

She grinned at the cassette, "Well, get to it, firecracker." As the Windy went about her business, Roulette sauntered toward the mine opening and eyed the boards barely keeping the entrance blocked. Likely the local younglings had sneaked their way inside as was the typical behavior of any youth no matter the race.

I wonder how far down that goes...

((OC: Sorry about that first post. Feel free to expand and add anything that might be useful. I'll throw in Thana to react to your next post.))

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Fairwinds obligingly flew off to perch at various cracks and pits about the mine, stuffing in a fraction of the irresponsible number of explosives she'd brought with her. Her scanners only paused in sweeping the area to check for fault lines and dangerous deposits in the rocks. That they were drawing MECH out was thrilling, but although they would not be sprung upon as the patrols had been, she did not want to be snuck up on.

She was also watching Roulette assess the site. Giving the deep dark hole of the mine some serious thought. Yay.

Explosives planted and set to detonate remotely, Fairwinds came back around to land next to the femme's left pede. She sidestepped to where two of the wooden planks had rotted through, putting an optic to the gap.

"Well this certainly looks trap-shaped," she said.

[Deleted]

In the cockpit of the modified helicopter, Thana adjusted the headpiece and listened with renewed interest at the latest flicker of activity detected. The creatures they hunted were stealthy in so far as naughty mice could be. Once they thought the cook was out of the kitchen, they scurried out from their hiding places and went back to their activities. It was only a matter of time before they found a trap.

Silas wasn't always forthcoming in his plans with them but he was always truthful with his men. And his networks were far more vast than that idiot Fowler could fathom. Bandwidths were monitored for every activity by MECH personal and charted, forming a fairly complex data hub. They had patterns established, some faces and even designations of those monsters.

Though her hand was steady on the rudder, inwardly Thana shuddered at the very thought of the aliens. Inexplicably violent, foreign, and a threat to the core; they had to be stopped at any cost. Their technology would boost science beyond light years if what Silas said was true. And Thana never doubted Silas. Which is why he trusted her to head this attack.

"Odile en route, proceed with plan A."

One of their sectors had been tripped with minimal activity which was exactly what the organization had been waiting on. In large forces the creatures were impossible to catch but split apart, they were easily subdued. Well...Thana winced at the memory of the spider-she-thing. Not all of them were so easily captured but with each attack, MECH grew stronger and their plans became that much more flawless. And they had a new weapon to unleash on the unsuspecting enemy.

--

"Well this certainly looks trap-shaped," she said.

"You certainly have a way with words, Windy. Is the trap for us or them?" Roulette poked at the rotting boards covering the cave. A loose board tumbled to the ground between her feet. She squatted, reached for the board when she noticed something peculiar...the dust was stirring around them when it had been particularly lack luster before.

Before she could turn, a black helicopter crested the steep hill to their left and zeroed in on them. The sharp shooter didn't have to ask which company they had. She didn't believe the local law enforcement would have the budget for a modified black hawk...

"Well, that didn't take long. I don't see what the big fuss i-" Unmarked, bland vehicles rounded the entrance to the mine and veered their way, stirring up plumes of dust. "...is."

Inwardly, Roulette heaved a mental sigh. This was starting to feel like work. She straightened up and turned, leading with her left hand, gun drawn and aimed at the first vehicle in front. With one shot, she took out the front tire and sent the vehicle veering rightward. The others smoothly dodged the obstacle and kept gunning for the two Decepticons. Before the femme could take another shot, something cold smashed against her arm and she jerked, looking up at the helicopter that hovered above them like a fat bug. The side doors were open and one of the troops was leaning out, grenade launcher in hand and aimed at her.

I can't move my arm, Roulette realized with mild panic. Whatever they had thrown at her, had frozen the circuits and lines solid. Well, the plan was going pear shaped but Roulette could positively tell Megatron that MECH had a nifty new trick up their uniform sleeves involving what appeared to be liquid nitrogen. That is, if she could get word out. Someone was jamming them. And if they weren't being peppered with freezing munitions, Roulette could probably have overcome the minor nuisance. However!

"Let's go spelunking, Windy!"

[Deleted]

Fairwinds did not tense with anything other than excited anticipation when the roar of MECH's approach filled the clearing. Too many vorns amidst the most formidable of the Decepticon ranks, countless cycles slumbering beneath the engine of its monstrously powerful commander, had inured the cassette to all auditory intimidation.

She was with the flagship's sharpshooter, facing targets come knowingly to their baited trap, and she was far, far too confident.

"Yeah, bring it, fleshbags!" she screamed around the barrel of her blaster, wings flared wide in the universally recognized symbol of 'bring it'. Her size made her a difficult target to hit, and she mocked them with it. "Don't'chya know we were programmed for paaaiin!."

What Fairwinds didn't count on was the fact that humans were far more used to hitting targets that a Cybertronian would count as challengingly small. And that their ammunition would freeze every component in her left wing and short her rear stabilizers.

Fairwinds spiraled back with a screech, claws sending chips of stone flying when she latched onto the wall of the mineshaft. She had to reach back to manually contract her numbed wing and clamp it to her side, hissing at the stiffness in the joints.

"Draw'em back deep and I'll blow the charges," she shouted to Roulette, moving backwards in an awkward lope. She noticed the heavy way the femme's arm hung at her side, optics flashing. "Don't worry: we'll trap the fraggers in here with us. We only need one to talk. Save one and mash the rest into their own engines."

[Deleted]

Draw em back deep, she says. Like I have a choice!

Honestly, if everything was going to go this bad on this planet, she was just going to stay in her berth next time. With a bereaved glance at the humans, she stumbled back, clutching her arm to herself. Even though she was laying on the dramatics, she still somehow kept from being hit by more of the liquid nitrogen. Back, back she staggered, carefully taking pot shots at the vehicles enough to slow them down but not cripple them completely.

Come on, humans...follow me into the cave.

With a back kick, she knocked the rest of the covering off of the cave and dove inside. Huh, the cave was more spacious than it had looked from the outside. At least there was that. She couldn't stand quite at full height but she wasn't hunched over like a crab either.

"How you doin, Windy?"

-

With a pinched frown, Thana watched the two aliens fall back against the cave. She wasn't so stupid as to think MECH had the upper hand just yet. All good things came to those with a steady hand. Below her, the vehicles took minor damage but steadily pushed the thing back against the abandoned cave. With mild interest she watched as a skilled shock cracked the windshield but the driver did not balk or crash. Such were the steady hands of their men.

"The alien is falling back. Vanguard, keep pushing them. The rest of you, proceed with plan D."

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"Absolutely marvelous," Fairwinds spat back, the direction of her voice changing rapidly as she literally dived away from a cascade of debris. The air was full of dust and smoke, and her sensors did not like the dimensions of whatever assault the humans were preparing on the other side of their barricade.

She found Roulette's leg in the dark and stood close enough for their plates to brush. Not that she was swaying or wobbling in any way that wasn't totally deliberate, or anything... Fragging humans and their fragging liquid nitrogen pellets. Gonna show them who's the fragile species here...

"Fire in the hole!" The warning came out as a cross between a cheer and a battle cry, immediately followed by the thuds and crashes of the charges detonating. Debris would be flying everywhere on the other side. The humans would be smashed, crushed, and skewered with it. They would leap into their tin trucks weeping with relief to have gotten away alive, and terrified to the disgusting marrow core of their bones of reprisals.

Fairwinds transmitted her estimation of events on the other side of the fallen rocks to Roulette in a data burst. The short animation was crudely rendered and of a far lesser quality to her reports for being so rushed. There were no sound effects, and almost all of the stick-squishy poses were straight from her library stock.

Overly large optics peered up to the hazy red of Roulette's stare. Fairwinds grinned. "Give it thirty seconds then break out and scrape up the survivors?"


<<OOC: Completely following your lead on Plan D! Also, log in to Odile's account for her sections of posts.>>

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Living in a slummy residential area for most of her life, Roulette envisioned her future to be much grander than this. She had never considered the possibility of hunkering in a hole in the ground, covered in dust, and literally freezing from a munitions discharge. Her arm actually hurt from the cold and while she wasn't afraid, she was concerned that if she moved too fast, the lines would snap and her motor skills would go. Wouldn't that just be the best?

Though, the data burst from her partner-in-crime did shed some warm fuzzies on the whole situation. Maybe the liquid nitrogen wielding slaggers had perished horribly. That would be worth the rock that was currently lodged under her aft in a painful fashion.

"We only need one, right?" Big M never really said they needed a handful of the pests to get information on...The rest were just collateral. "When we break out, mind the slagging aerial. That's where the nitrogen came from. Hopefully it was taken out with the detonations."

((OC: Odile post coming up next, I swear!))

[Deleted]

She knew they trying to lure MECH into a trap. But she hadn't known about the explosives and she should have anticipated such tactics. The second the two creatures had crawled into the cave, Odile had shouted a fall back command to everyone encroaching on the entrance. It had not saved them. Even as she banked back from the explosions, the force of shuddering the helicopter but not upsetting their flight, she thought of what she would say to the grieving families. How did one apologize for getting their own men killed in combat?

Thana couldn't, she knew. There was no amount of sincerity that would change their lives being lost. The only prospect she could follow was to move on with the next step of the plan and fight the invasive force like the threat they were. She would route them out of that cave and have them judged for their deeds.

Odile had plans ranging from A through G if the occasion called for it. Each plan was nearly the same, and the only deviation was protocol and flanking tactics. MECH was a well formed machine, and moved well together. In this instance, Plan D was to close in on the creatures from another avenue. Various tunnels fed into the main form of the cave and her men were now making their way through. While they closed in from behind, Thana would harass and keep them occupied with a show of force in front.

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"Pfft - when're we ever lucky enough for it to be easy?" Fairwinds spat, a fortuitous statement as not three seconds later they were back under fire.

Apparently the cave-in had not created the impenetrable barrier of rocks that they had hoped for. Long beams of wood that had been framing the mine shaft now created bridges and supports at random points. The humans, sickeningly small and crafty, had hounded up to the collapsed earth and started firing through the gaps.

Fairwinds fell back with an enraged static-ripped sound, akin to a poor recording of a drum kit being thrown down a fire escape. The primitive laser fire (yeah, okay, it did sting a bit) was more an annoyance than debilitating, instinctively backing them up in the tiny space. With a deep vent they could plow straight through it and shred the fleshies into pink confetti. But that would put them into the firing line of the liquid nitrogen bombs, which were legitimately bad.

'Fall back' wasn't a tenable long-term plan, however, particularly as they'd only taken a preliminary scan of the mine and thus didn't know where it went or how stable it was. Aside from the obvious risk of a cave-in (exacerbated by weapons fire), there were also explosive gas pockets, abandoned chemicals and dragons to worry about.

Furthermore, as a small flier, Fairwinds felt sick at the thought of being forced any deeper underground. They needed to get out. Failing that, they needed help. All she got when she shot off a comm. blast to the Nemesis, however, was static.

The cassette launched aside when a lucky shot blasted the rocks where her pedes had been, thudding against Roulette's shinguard with a clang.

"My comm.s aren't getting through!" she shouted over the commotion. "Can you call for backup?"

Please, she thought, don't let the stupid squishies have figured out how to jam our signals...

[Deleted]

Of course the stupid humans hadn't died en masse. Of course! Why would anything on this cursed planet even remotely go her way? She'd had nightmares end with better odds than any mission she tried to achieve on this planet. She was seriously starting to consider that maybe this planet was cursed.

She started to lunge forward to catch the cassette when she was winged by the humans (who were, surprisingly, nice shots) but incoming fire pressed Roulette back against her meager hiding. Who knew a large rock could be so handy when one was getting to the point of desperation? Unfortunately for her, Roulette's attention stayed to the foreground and at the visible enemy.

"Windy, I can't get pit of a signal out. They got us jammed. In more ways than one. If we could just-" Her words were cut off by a shriek as something freezing splashed across her back. Without second guessing, Roulette whirled around and fired at whoever had dared shoot her. The impact from her bullet sent the human flying backward like a flung doll. By the time she was taking aim for the others running out of the tunnels like ants, she realized her body was failing to heed her commands. One could say she was downright sluggish.

"Sh--" Before she could utter the human swear, she was shot again, this time fully in the torso. If she thought her arm had hurt before, it was nothing to the stinging cold and complete system lockup her body was going through. Rather ungracefully, she staggered back against the rock and slid down to a crumpled slouch.

(OOC: Wanta skip Odette this time for a reaction from Windy?)

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((OOC: With Krax's permission, I'm wrapping up the thread and moving the plot forward.))

Outside and inside the cave system humans moved about like efficient ants in a hive. As the thick dust swirled in somber dust devils through the unnatural canyon, Thana stood ramrod straight in front of the entrance and watched through steely eyes. A bunched muscle ticked in her jaw as she clenched her teeth.

The non-biological entities were effective even when cornered like dying rats. A small part of Thana could admire their tenacity even if she saw to squash out their defiance and strip them of their means. An errant shot, or perhaps well aimed, had seared across the nose of her craft and sent all passengers into a controlled spiral to the ground. Though she'd landed heavy enough to damage the craft, everyone inside was jarred but otherwise unhurt. She was forced to remove her headdress to inspect a blossoming bruise across her cheek that would darken to mulberry purple later in the evening.

She allowed herself idle thoughts of what excuse she would use for the minor injury if anyone should ask. A wicked part of her considered appealing to the average person's concern and righteous anger at a domestic transgression, but she just as easily cast the thought aside. There was no use for the ruse when she could appeal to curiosity and awe. Surely a training exercise had given her the mark, or was it an undercover assignment that she couldn't tell the students at the recruitment desk?

Children were so impressionable...and easily molded.

"I want the cargo loaded and in transport before more arrive. Silus will not tolerate failure. Move, double time!" Her harsh bark broke the otherwise uneasy quiet. "Leave no trace and close the cave once finished."

They would have the two entities en route and out of the area in half a tick. And the cave would be returned to its proper dormancy, forgiving a few marks from the encounter. If they needed to use the cave in the near future, it would be waiting like an empty trap ready for use.