EP.5 - Utah - Out Of Gas (Closed)

[steele]

Sand gently swirled around the ground in tiny eddies that snaked along the lonely desert landscape. The mid-day sun was high in the sky. It was dangerous for Serotype to leave her cave-home. She knew she took a much bigger risk of heading outside during the day when the odds for getting caught by any wayward Decepticon scouts were much higher. It was certainly a strong issue for her. She had managed to have stayed out of their sight for quite some time.

However, today posed a problem. Not exactly a Decepticon problem but a fuel problem. Earlier on, she was checking through the energon reserves she kept at her home only to discover that they were too low. That meant that she would have to leave her cave and take a short walk over to the next cave where she had to mine out. If anything, she typically tried to avoid doing it during the day. Early mornings or late evenings were her thing. That was the only time she felt safe enough to attempt an energon run.

Quietly, Serotype went to the entrance of her home and peeked out to see if it was safe. If she didn't head out now, she was certain she would run out by this evening.

[sniper]

What was it with this planet and blistering heat? While the temperatures gave Sniper only a little trouble, he hated the sand. And it was everywhere! It had been everywhere in Nevada - and even more so in here. And as a mech who cared about his unscratched paint job, Sniper would have wondered why Serotype had chosen such a horrific base for herself, but the femme's situation was as grim as that of his. He couldn't really blame her about her decision.

And she had chosen her hiding hole quite decently, too, now that Sniper thought about, while attempting to cruise along the dry lands. The place was resolute, silent, and an ambush would be easy to spot. That, and she had been hard to track here. But Sniper was good at his job. That, and he had limited access to Autobot resources now. Which, of course, made him feel like a sparkling. He hated being restricted like that. He had had trouble with this concept whilst his long stay with the Decepticons, and he continued to have trouble with it with the Autobots.

But even with limited access, Sniper had managed to scrape together Serotype's whereabouts. A weak energon signature on his scanners confirmed this fact as Sniper advanced trough the yellow sand. And speaking sand, it got old really fast. It was making the drive harder for a vechicle that was not used to driving this planet. So, eventually, when Sniper was close enough to the set coordinates, a transformation happened. The gleaming green turned into a lanky spybot, whose red optics wore a tight, serious expression - with a hint of his signature grumpiness.

He scanned the area carefully for open frequencies. He had come here for one in particular. And after a while, it was found. With a dark figure to accompany it in the distance.

::You are alive,:: Sniper's voice was as expressionless as ever. One couldn't really say what he actually thought of the fact he had just stated about Serotype. Until he said- ::I'm ... relieved.::

[steele]

Serotype saw Sniper before she heard him on her comms. His lime green figure was an easy one to spot. She watched him close the gap between them. His voiced filtered in on her comms.

"You don't need to speak privately, Sniper. There's no one here safe for you and myself," said Serotype, "It appears to be that you are alive and well. That's significantly better than how I found you."

[sniper]

::Oh, but I do,:: he transmitted on the same note as before. ::It has come to my attention that your-,:: Sniper glanced around very briefly, as though he was hoping to find a suitable word lying around on the ground. ::-hiding place might have been ... compromised.::

Sniper's optics wore the same serious and attentive expression they always did, as their gaze hopped from one point to another on the femme. She was the same as before, even the sand and dirt of Utah had not treated her paint job very nicely. Should Sniper have been more expressive by nature, he would have maybe scowled at this. However, no changes occurred on his faceplate. Not even when Serotype brought up the ... unfortunate state Sniper had been left in a while back. Aside from a slight narrowing of his optics.

"Yes, I figured it had been you back on desert," Sniper replied. "But your reasons are still a mystery to me."

[steele]

Serotype paused.

::Compromised? But how? I just got this location and I haven't seen anyone from our former faction for quite some time,:: said Serotype.

She wasn't sure how exactly anyone could have found out she was here. the only way that came to mind was either she accidentally exposed herself or perhaps that it was just coincidental. Either way, this was bad news. Even when she left the safety of her home, she left in a fine coating of dust to keep her reflectivity down. It wasn't doing anything fantastic for her paint job. It didn't really matter as much to her. She usually went commando when it came down to her appearance anyways. Not like she had a stream of individuals to impress like a government official would.

In any event, the idea of Cons coming this way was very disturbing indeed.

::What is their ETA?:: she asked.

Out loud, however...

"The reason why I saved you was because you were in need of assistance and I felt that you, just like the circumstances I used to be under, would benefit and flourish under Autobot protection since being under the Decepticons is very inhospitable," said Serotype.

She paused a beat and quickly added, "I also try to avoid killing anyone with a name."

[sniper]

Sniper glanced at skies without really moving his helm. It was most likely that the scouts sent to Serotype's location would be flyers - or at least that would make the most sense keeping in mind what the femme was capable of transforming into.

But what she said out loud got a different reaction.

"You don't say?" Sniper replied with a sharp note when Serotype mentioned the inhospitable ways of the Decepticons. The sarcasm in his voice withdrew when he continued by saying: "I once stated that you have a very romantic view of this universe, Doctor. Even in this circumstance, that fact remains as true as it was then. And I don't know if it should make me feel envy or pity towards you," his tone was calm and collected as he spoke - maybe even a tiny bit puzzled. "But the thing I know for sure is that it'll get you killed if I don't return your favor." Or rather, favors. But Sniper was a tad too proud to make it a plural.

[steele]

"I'm not out to make you feel anything. It's just fact. Statistically speaking, your odds are much better now," said Serotype.

She quickly added, ::Let's seal this place up and move. If you believe that this threat is real, then we must make haste.::

[warcry]

In the middle of desert, the ground bridge opened, massive lone figure marching through it, bridge closing behind Decepticon warrior. Glowing red optics investigating the surrounding terrain... Sand, dust, heat, everywhere. The frag had he done that he was sent to this kind of mission. To investigate the weak energon signal, at a place that has not given any readings before. Warcry grunted, as he believed that they had just not investigated it enough to notice such readings, which were propably even too low to cause the alarm. And when they at last noticed it, decided to send one of the biggest warriors to take a look. Like he could even get any interest from this kind of mission, he was a warrior. But he just knew that Arma had propably spoken to Megatron, to not let him to the missions with possibilities to encounter the bots. She really didn't trust him, at any rate.

He grabbed the meter, telling him the direction of the signal. The readings, were low, really low. He was told to take a look at the source, and to map out, if it was any good for them, which he doubted really. He was far away, from anything, and the source of the signal was also far away. He cursed again in his mind, knowing they had bridged him on purpose this far. When he got the direction, he shutted the meter, and took few steps, before transforming into his alt form, opening the throttle immediatedly, his engine letting roaring sound, as he got on move.

His moving was so much easier like this, large wheels, and treads made sure he was able to advance steadily. As steadily as heavy trucklike vehicle just was. Huge cloud of dust was following him, but luckily there was bit of wind, blowing against him, dust remained behind him. He would find out the source, and return to Nemesis as soon as possible.