Workshop - Darkmount - Polyhex

White cement tile floors complete with floor drains mark this room as a maintenance space even before you see all the machine tools. Toolchests and workbenches are mounted on the walls, with the center of the room left open for access to the lifts and hoists. Air hoses for pneumatic tools hang in reels from the ceiling, easily accessable from any part of the room, and at several points along the rear wall there are connections for fuel, coolant and welding gas hoses.


Scorponok has made a quite few enemies in the Decepticons since his brutal return to the cause. And yet, he has a hardcore sect of loyal followers--many of whom are loyal because no other Decepticon commander will tolerate them--who have grown increasingly agitated over the fact their boss is still in a comatose state, and many threats have anonymously been made to the Decepticons' medical staff.

As to which of Scorponok's men would do such a horrible thing, well, who knows! But it did leave the Decepticons with a simple choice--fix Scorponok, or risk having to stomp down on a mutiny. And so here we are, in Scorponok's mind. And Zarak's mind. Currently, we seem to currently be more in the Scorponok section at the moment, judging from the fact that we're on the bridge of the Hellbender, and Scorponok is sitting forward on his command chair, elbows on his knees as he sits, pondering something. "That... look he gave me when I left. Did he know? Was this all a joke to him?" he quietly mutters.

Wait, how did we get here? Oh, right, cortical patch. Dreams are confusing like that.
Unfortunately, it was Soundwave's call to make and a united front of backbiting, lazy, psychopathic, and snarky Decepticons works better in the grand scheme of things than a fractured base of backbiting, lazy, psychopathic, and snarky Decepticons. In short. Soundwave'd rather aim them all at the Autobots. They were doing so well under The Unchrasimatic One's leadership.

After Soundwave and the team digistructs into the accessible memory, he raises a hand to silence his crew of the loyal. Soundwave assesses the situation for a few moments. He was no Doctor of Mnemosurgeon, but he understood thought and memory...as well as ways to manipulate such things. In short, he didn't want Mindwipe anywhere near this operation. He rumbles on the group's private channel. "CONSIDERING SCORPONOK'S INSTABILITY, IF WE ARE TO REVIVE HIM WE WILL NEED TO COME TO HIS...AID." The words are bitter ash to the Tape Commander, but he continues, "SCAN FOR SIGNS OF MEMORY LOSS, INCONSISTENCIES, AND OF ZARAK HIMSELF. I WILL START INQUIRY OF SCORPONOK." Soundwave approaches the command chair, moving to his standard spot, the left hand of Command, proper posture...always there for advice or commands. He speaks in his standard synthesized monotone, "LORD SCORPONOK, WHAT ARE YOUR ORDERS?" That should work well for an egomaniac.
Rumble stands by, watching Soundwave attempt to communicate with the as-yet-unresponsive Scorponok/Zarak. He cringes a bit at 'Lord Scorponok'; however, even he realizes that it's something the egomaniacal Scorp would answer to. He might even be able to assist in some strange way, should a 'go-between' be necessary for this communication to take place. In the meantime, he ponders a recent cage match he watched in Kaon's underworld.
Airlift is, unsurprisingly, displeased by this entire situation. He hadn't really been one of those who was in favor of repairing Scorponok at all. In fact, he'd offered to personally interrogate and torture the suspected sources of the threats until they confessed and were summarily executed. Unfortunately, he was over-ruled.. The fact that the cortical patch had to be specially adjusted for his Unicronian physiology just annoyed him further, alleviated only by the fact that Arachnae was present to supervise. So it is that he appears inside of the diseased mind of one who would share his form with a fleshling, his distaste obvious as he turns to Soundwave, "Are you SURE we can't simply make examples of the ones that demand this?" he asks of the commander before he sighs as orders are given. "As you command.." he mutters in a resigned fashion.

He begins to move about the dreamscape, exploring, moving towards the controls of the ship to see just where it's headed and what readouts are on the instruments. His lower arms cross in front of his form, his datascreen extending from one and a keyboard from the other as he begins to input information on his observations with his upper set of hands. "The interrogation potential of this device is remarkable.." he muses aloud, sounding sinister.
Blast Off really doesn't want to be here right now, but as part of the Decepticon Chain of Command he has found himself here anyway. Honestly, he really doesn't /want/ to know what goes on in Scorponok's mind... and much less that revolting organic's mind, Zarak. It was bad enough he had to retrieve Scorponok from the Antarctic... this is getting far too close and personal. But who knows, maybe he'll find something useful. He'd be perefectly happy to let the Headmaster offline here- permenantly... but isn't foolish enough to easily allow it... not unless he thought he could get away with it.

He listens to Soundwave and nods. Yes, Soundwave may hate being here even more than HE does.... The shuttleformer (again feeling a bit weird walking around INSIDE a spaceship, when it's usually HE who is the ship...) walks over to navigational controls and studies the star charts to see where they are, then looks out at the screen and back around the bridge of the ship, taking note of who is here. He also runs scans, as ordered by Soundwave, searching for Zarak or anything unusual.
Fun fact: The Decepticons have considered using the patch as an interrogation device before, but no one
Arachnae hadn't intended on getting drawn into anyone else's core systems. Something she can't remember made her hesitate initially but training and SCIENCE took over. Rather neutral in the whole 'who's in charge' debate, to her, it's her duty to tend to a patient and.. if that means mucking about bioneurological pathways via connections and synchronized cross-connections. So be it. Having a strong sense of self is vastly important when sliding into others mindscapes, so it may be odd for those traveling as her mental presence is an echo of a former frame, complete with rotor-blades handing behind her frame, shaded in hues of lightest grey and white with a single violet stripe along shoulders.

Goldish-green optics flicker, "How interesting." she murmurs just barely over a whisper, taking in the details as she trails along. "Makes me think of Jazz for some reason. Hmm. Have to follow that train of thought later." She quietly shadows Airlift, lips curving into a faint smirk, "Now now, stability is not a guarantee if you do not maintain control, my dear Airlift. Minds are not easy playgrounds for the uninitiated."
Fun fact: The Decepticons have considered using the patch as an interrogation device before, but few have been too keen on volunteering to be the one to do it after certain Decepticons had a very unpleasant experience in a certain Autobot's head, with some of them suffering from PTSD afterwards. Granted, that Autobot was worse than most Decepticons, but that's another tale.

"Mmmh," Scorponok grunts at Soundwave for a moment. Slowly, he raises his head to look at him, then casts his gaze across the other Decepticons. "Don't call me 'Lord.'" Ooooh, seems Soundwave misjudged Scorponok. "I despise fancy titles. A warrior should be known by his achievements, not a word put before his name. But enough of that... your orders are, as always, to man your stations and scan for signs of the Steelhaven." He leans back into his chair. "That damn Straxus... he *knew*. Millions of years. He knew!" He grits his dental plates. "Bastard."
Buzzsaw arrives from the Atrium - Darkmount.
Buzzsaw has arrived.
The Tape Commander reflects on the thought. Perhaps there really was a separation between Zarak and Scorponok, for him to muse so about titles. This was....interesting, and perhaps even preferred to the maniacal nature of Zarak. Still, even Scorponok seems perturbed, distracted by something, and in riddles lie solutions. "AS YOU COMMAND." Soundwave steps over to the sensor array aside the helmsman's post and starts his sensor sweeps. Perhaps there was some clue here with his obsession. The Decepticon Intelligence Head looks towards the front display to gather more intel on this situation. As he does, he answers Airlift on the private channel. <<SCORPONOK HAS SECRETS STILL, AIRLIFT, AND THE HIVE NEBULONS FOLLOW HIM. IF THE ENTIRETY OF THE MASTERS MOVE TO DEFECT OR ARE PUT DOWN, IT WEAKENS OUR FRONT AGAINST THE AUTOBOTS. CYBERTRON IS OUR PRIZE, IT IS LORD GALAVTRON'S PRIZE. WE HAVE LOST ENOUGH TIME AND GROUND ASSAULTING EACH OTHER, WHEN THE REAL ENEMY STANDS BEFORE US. >>

That moment of wit and wisdom ends, the Tape Commander quiet for a bit as he studies things, factoring in Straxus...and hopes that perhaps this thought is something long, LONG ago.
Airlift hadn't actually turned around to look when everyone arrived, but when Arachnae addresses him he turns her direction and can't help but do a double take.. "Now that's a form I haven't seen in a very, very long time.." he says with a small smile playing at his lips. "Not that I'm objecting..I've never quite gotten used to your new form..it's not what I'm used to seeing leaned over putting me back together.." he shrugs slightly. He doesn't seem too interested in his 'job' per se as he does the required scanning of the ships systems. He glances towards Scorponok on the 'throne' and smirks slightly before he looks at Soundwave and nods at the instructions. <<I don't fault your logic Soundwave. It occurs to me though that we are presented with a rare opportunity to see to it that this being does not attempt to rise up as it is likely he will do eventually. Rather than have him sew further discored, perhaps a neural trigger could be left such that if he defies Lord Galvatron, it renders him back into this current state of coma..>> he suggests on that private channel. He glances towards the conrols then and says aloud, "I think we may have to take control of the ship in this 'dream' in order to proceed towards a resolution.." he offers tentatively.
<Decepticon> Soundwave has encrypted this channel.
<Decepticon> Soundwave says, "PERHAPS, AIRLIFT.  YOUR COUNSEL IS NOTED...AND TABLED UNTIL WE KNOW MORE.   FOR NOW, WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HE IS SEARCHING FOR, WHAT HISTORY HE HAS WITH STRAXUS.   ENSURE THE SHIP IS FULLY SEARCHED FOR SIGNS OF ZARAK."
Blast Off keeps a side-optic peeled on Airlift, who he doesn't particularly trust... and wouldn't mind getting a little dirt on. Arachnae's form gets a double-take. He asks her, "You look a little like Vortex.... have you two ever met?" He looks around, not sure what to do next, when Airlift speaks. He looks over, and says quietly, "Unless of course by taking "control" we cause a violent reaction and the mind rejects us, or we fail to see something important that happens next because we interfered with the memory..."
Arachnae gives a shrug at Airlift, "This is the one that's the strongest right now so here I am." She peers around, lifting a brow as Soundwave is slightly rebuked. "The new one feels odd but that's neither here nor less." Narrowing optics at the tight beamed transmissions, letting a soft hiss escape. Blades rustle behind her before she steps closer to the main screen, looking at it with a thoughtful frown. "Steelhaven? Now that's something I haven't heard in a long time." Perhaps a lie but just a tiny one. <<This is not how one installs a trigger, to do so would endanger us all.>>
Rumble remains there, just in case Soundwave has a little job for him to complete. But all this discussion about minds? That's kind of out of his league. He could care less if Scorponok ever functions again, in truth. "How do we know there ain't some other conscious spark in there, just tryin' to fool us?"
<Decepticon> Soundwave says, "POSSIBLE, RUMBLE, BUT THE OTHER SPARK WOULD HAVE TO HAVE A STRONG SENSE OF *BEING* SCORPONOK FOR IT TO TAKE HOLD...AND WOULD BE A DANGEROUS FOE HERE, IF THAT IS THE CASE."
<Decepticon> Rumble says, "Oh. A'right..."
"They all acted like I broke some unwritten rule when I killed Sentinel Prime," Scorponok growls to himself, oblivious to the dream transmissions going on. Somehow it works--after all, it's a dream, why wouldn't it? Regardless, he continues to sit on his command chair, lip curling as rage simmers within him, a rage that's burnt since his creation and has not relented since. Then Arachnae says something that he finds odd. He fixes his gaze on her, optics narrowed. "...haven't heard in a long time?" He opens his mouth to say more, but it seems he's trying to... recall something? Then, finally, he bellows, "SPINISTER, you FOOL! We've been chasing this damn ship for MILLIONS of years! Check yourself in to the auto-doc after your ship, you're MALFUNCTIONING!" Oh, right, Scorponok's band of misfits doesn't have any engineers.

Scorponok appears to settle down until he then hears what Airlift has to say. The look Scorponok gives him would make the fuel pumps of many freeze in terror. "I don't think I heard you," he growls as he rises, approaching Airlift's station. "Take control of the ship?! NO ONE TAKES CONTROL BUT--" He stops in mid-murdering, gasping a bit as he notices something... past Airlift. "That's it! The Steelhaven! That signal--follow it! I don't care if it takes us into the core of a star!" Oh, it does seem like Airlift's console is picking up some kind of signal.
Blast Off watches as Scorponok raises his hopes and looks like he might pummel Airlift... but alas, no.. he's distracted by the appearance of the Steelhaven. The Combaticon looks over at Arachnae, but she hasn't answered his question. Perhaps it triggered a bad memory? He looks away then, only to hear Rumble speak. "What do you mean, Rumble?" Then his scans pick up something. He studies them, and radios Soundwave and the others. <<I have detected Zarak some where nearby. I am considering exiting this ship and looking for it on my own.>> And he begins moving away, heading towards the bridge exit and the nearest airlock.
Soundwave stands as Scorponok commences with the bellowing, which is sort of like a hailing tone aboard other craft. Of course, other craft don't generally ram space installations or fly through the heart of a star.

He checks his sensor station again just to see if there's any truth to it....but it doesn't really matter. The Tape Commander lies his aft off in the possibility that this is the 'mental block' Scorponok's dealing with. "THE SIGNAL IS CONFIRMED. THE STEELHAVEN HAS BEEN FOUND." He takes a moment to hedge his bet, "ITS READINGS INDICATE IT'S SUFFERED GRAVE DAMAGE." He leaves it at that, no sense getting Scorponok too worked up, but perhaps this gentle nudge is what he needs....

Decepticons...are not gentle. Soundwave stews quietly, letting Airlift keep the helm.
Blast Off falters and rechecks those scans. <<Well... I *thought* I detected Zarak. I actually detected a Nebulan. I suppose there are several, since I detect Nebulos nearby. They all sort of look alike, after all, right? *snobby sniff* ...Well... I *still* intend to check this out... with my OWN flgiht capability.>> And he keeps heading out.
Airlift is...well..apparently manning the helm. He looks a bit startled at Scorponok's outburst, and his lower left hand twitches involuntarily..getting ready to trigger the automatic neural disconnect he quietly built into his rig if it wasn't standard, while everyone was distracted (probably by Blast Off complaining). He takes the seat at the helm and goes through the motions of 'piloting' the ship..but basically just wiggles around and lets Scorponok's mind fill in the details, because quite frankly, Airlift couldn't fly a kite. "Err..aye aye? Following the signal Scorponok.." he says. Even he has to admit it sounds like a last minute actor trying to pick up the play. He provides 'vrooming' and 'whooshing' noises as he 'steers' the ship to follow.
Arachnae half turns, peering at Scorponok with a quizzical expression. A brow lifts before she sketches a shallow bow, "My apologies, T'was meant in jest. Poor timing and delivery on my part." She steps away from the screen, closer to Blast Off now and murmurs, "I've met him several times. Banned him from medical a few times as well. This isn't an exact representation of how I was, my rotors were subspaced but.." A shrug, optics narrowing as she parses words, struggling to recall something just outside of memories recall. Rotor spars rustle as she watches Scorponok head towards Airlift, as his mind or not, she will defend a patient, then she gives a shake of her head, smirking at Airlifts antics. "Should we send scouts ahead, sir? If it is the Steelhaven and it is damaged then whatever did so may still as of yet be present."
<Decepticon> Arachnae says, "Sentinal Prime is a telling reference. Of all the times to have memory blocks, this isn't one I'd have selected."
Rumble looks back toward where Blast Off is headed. This was all kinda 'mental', right? Mental as in, it couldn't hurt them? Maybe?? Well, being difficult to intimidate anyhow, Rumble isn't too worried about that, but the thought has crossed his mind that this little journey into brainspace could carry some unknown risk. "<< Hey, Sir Enerwine, don't get lost out there, cause that's a brain map, that ain't a real star chart. Or somethin'. It's a stimulation. >>" he tightbeams to Blast Off.
<Decepticon> Airlift says, "...."
Scorponok is practically drooling for vengeance as he hears the Steelhaven has not only been found, it's been damaged. He throws himself back into his seat, tapping something on his console, and an imaged of a severely damaged Steelhaven floating above Nebulos appears on screen, just as Soundwave lied(?). And despite being completely unqualified to fly the ship, Airlift nevertheless manages to steer it like he's been built from the ground to do only that. "Excellent work, Weirdwolf and Triggerhappy." Wait, what? He leans over his shoulder as Blast Off leaves. "Eh? Misfire, where are y--oh, bah, I don't care, he could fly into the engines and I'd likely be better off." Snorting derisively, he declares, "Fire the boarding tubes at the Steelhaven! I will destroy Maximus PERSONALLY!"

Space is actually quite well detailed in Scorponok's brain. When you spend several million years roaming the galaxy fruitlessly, you're bond to get an idea of the place, after all. And this is the Nebulos system, indeed--but there is something here in the system that's not normally there. A chest. Like, an old-fashioned chest people would keep belongings or valuables in, just floating around in space.
"...." Rumble blinks. Did he just got called Weirdwolf? Because he wasn't Triggerhappy, that's for damn sure. He glances over at Soundwave briefly, then quietly does console stuff. Theatre of the mind, indeed...
Blast Off huffs slightly at Rumble's nickname for him, then replies, ego at full power, "I am quite aware. But I am a Master of the Skies and Space.... even if that space is really only the space between a mech's audio sensors. I can handle whatever is out there." He is just about out the door when Airlift stops him. He listens and nods. "I see." He *almost* seems to grin slightly under the faceplate as she speaks of nearly banning Vortex. "Yes... I can imagine he would be a pain in the aft in medbay..."

He shakes his head, nods to her, and continues on- only to be called "Misfire" by Scorponok. He looks around, "What?" ...then decides arguing is pointless. He sighs instead, and goes with it. "I'll... try to work on my aim while I'm out there, Scorponok." OH the IRONY. With that, he heads out, soon finding the nearest airlock and exiting the ship. The Combaticon transforms and flies out towards the Steelhaven- and Nebulos, scanning as he goes. Ahhh... this is better. Flight in space is better, even if it's not real.
With a disdainful shrug, Blast Off transforms into a space shuttle.
Soundwave spends a bit of time reevaluating what is known of Scorponok's history. It tracks. Scoroponok and Maximus will take their war to Nebulos. Scorponok...wages war against Nebulos to get to him. This part was fuzzy, but the outcome is clear. The two will meet, and perhaps rewinding this memory is what he needs to awaken. He clicks a button, "BOARDING TUBES PREPPED AND READY FOR ASSAULT. COMMAND TEAMS AT THE READY, AND PREPARE TO FOLLOW SCORPONOK'S ASSAULT. THOSE WHO ASSAULT FORTRESS MAXIMUS IN SCORPONOK'S STEAD SHALL BE EXECUTED." When one waits millions of years for payback, the cost of denial is high indeed. Soundwave summons his concussion blaster...or possibly Mindwipe's Anti-Grav gun if that's how Scorponok is playing it. With all things in check and ready, he moves to the inevitable boarding party position.
Airlift maintains his station, 'piloting' the ship and working under the general (and perhaps misguided) belief that Scorponok's imagination will provide the mechs to fire the boarding tubes. He looks up when Soundwave provides the necessary acting skills. "Err..Navigation on standby..maintaining position for boarding action.." he declares tentatively, before getting up and going over to where Soundwave is getting into position for a boarding action. He checks his plasma cannon and something occurs to him..a nervous look suddenly on his face.
<Decepticon> Airlift says, "Ahh..Soundwave.. I'm unfamiliar with this event..but..what were the casualties on Scorponok's side if this was an actual occurence? And might we not want to proceed with caution? A scenario such as this can present rather unique dangers when faced with mortality.."
Arachnae idly ponders mental invisibility, if she believes she is, in fact, intangible here, would it work. She knows the physics behind it after all. She half focuses on that train of thought and murmurs, "He won't know what hit him, sir." Smirk. Sometimes, other peoples dreams can be fun!
<Decepticon> Soundwave says, "REPORTS ARE CONFLICTED.  THE MAIN BELIEF IS THAT MAXIMUS SURRENDERED HIS FORCES TO THE NEBULANS, AND SCORPONOK WAGED SIEGE AGAINST ZARAK, BUT THIS MAY NOT BE HOW IT PLAYS OUT..."
<Decepticon> Rumble says, "Okay, so we don't know what happened, but if we don't *do* this like it actually happened, then...?? What happens then??"
Hm, it seems Arachnae can't make herself invisible. And yet Soundwave and Airlift were able to affect the dream. What's the critical element needed to manipulate the dream-verse? "Good work, Mindwipe," Scorponok says aloud. "Now, let us make ready to finally put an end to Fortress Maximus, like I should have done millions of years ago, instead of chasing him round the galaxy and having my destiny SNATCHED from me!" And the boarding tubes fire, clamping on, and Scorponok is first to charge down the tube.

But when he emerges on the other side, he doesn't find quite what he expected. No one does. This is, after all, a dream. The dream of two individuals.

"Welcome, Scorponok," Lord Zarak says as Scorponok bursts into his dining hall, where he, his loyal Nebulans, and his daughter Llyra are dining. He gestures to the end of the dining table directly across from him. All of Zarak's loyalists are sitting to the right of him at the table, with empty seats for all on the left side. "Have a seat."

"I... I don't have time for this! I have to destroy Maximus!" Scorponok yells, staggering about the room.

"Ugh, father, throw that barbarian out," Llyra sneers.

"Now, now, dear," Zarak says, "We need him, for now."

Wait, did everyone suddenly become the same height as the Nebulans? Or does size really matter here?

Meanwhile, in space...

"Psst, hey. Hey, buddy."

Is that coming from the chest?
<Decepticon> Airlift sounds hopeful, "Scorponok and his little parasi..err..companion..are tragically lost for all time?"
<Decepticon> Arachnae says, "Airlift. This is a *patient*...."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "My scans are picking up Zarak inside the Steelhaven now. Does this concur with what you are seeing in there?"
Soundwave steps towards the boarding tube, and turns back to the others, he starts to speak, "WE WILL HAVE TO E...." and after the transition, Soundwave/Mindwipe simply isn't with the group... Perhaps he was left behind at the ship, perhaps he met with a terrible fate...but noone shall know until they wake back up...
<Decepticon> Airlift says, "This all has a rather..experimental..feeling to it Arachnae, therefor I would classify him mroe as a test subject than patient.. Errr..where did Soundwave go?"
<Decepticon> Arachnae says, "Hmmm, not sure and.. wow, short..."
<Decepticon> Rumble says, "Wh...where is he?!!"
Whoever Airlift appears to be, he charges along after Scorponok only to arrive suddenly in... <<Are we SURE this is necessary? I'm sure Arachnae and I could rebuild him as a mobile tank to be operated by one of the drones..>> Airlift suggests over the secure com. He's had experience with getting his mind messed with, and finds this more than a small bit disconcerting it seems..Even so, he plays along still, moving to a place at the table and watching to see what Scorponok does, surreptitiously checking his medical readouts on his arm-data-pad.
Arachnae damns, then sways a bit at the sudden disorientation of a scene shift. "Now that's peculiar." She looks over at Scorponok, "Dinner?"
Space Shuttle <Blast Off> continues his scans- and suddenly there's Zarak's signal- right there on the Steelhaven? Odd. Ah well, it IS a dream, basically, right? He radios the others about it, and considers coming in for a closer look just outside the ship... when... what? What was that? Some voice, seeming to come from... another section of...space? Or is it the chest? It's... rather confusing. The shuttle runs scans, trying to pick up the source, and begins heading towards where he thinks it is coming from. <<Who is this? Identify yourself.>>
<Decepticon> Airlift says, "I'm not sure Rumble, but all vital signs are reading optimum for all present..he is in no danger. Perhaps he found a subroutine of Lord Scorponok's psyche and is pursuing restoration there. In the meantime, Arachnae, as our remaining neurological expert, is now in command of this mission."
<Decepticon> Rumble seems to step down a few notches from freakout-and-pound-everything mode. "Hmm, no danger you say? A'right."
<Decepticon> Arachnae shushes, "Rumble, Soundwave's mental acuity is astounding. He also has a failsafe should his delvings cause any difficulties. We should focu-.. Like Hell I'm in char.. well.. slaggit.
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "Better you than Airlift. If YOU disappear, though, that will leave me in charge. Just so that's clear, Airlift."
<Decepticon> Airlift can practically be heard to smirk, "If you'd prefer that I take command of this mission Arachnae, I will be glad to abort the mission.. Ah, no Blast Off, this is a medical situation, you have no authority here under any circumstance..and I do have an abort switch rigged as a contingency."
Scorponok paces about the fancy dining hall like he's looking for something... and also like he wants to leave but can't. He's being a terrible guest, assuredly!

A butler soon arrives and delivers plates of ener-cakes to all the guests and to Zarak. "Scorponok! Please, sit, your food will get cold!" Zarak chides.

"I don't have time for your prancing nonsense, Zarak! I want Maximus, arrggh!" Scorponok seethes, continuing to pace.

As Airlift finds a seat, Llyra scowls at him, then glares at the other Decepticons as they enter. "More of the *robots*. Father, we can't rely on any of them. They've been *uselessly* fighting each other for eons, like a bunch of fools! I can't *stand* them."

Zarak merely sighs. "Well... they are rather brutish..."

In space, the voice does seem to be coming from the chest. Sound travelling in space? Sure, why not?

"You wanna see something really cool?" comes the voice from the unmoving chest. "Open me up."
<Decepticon> Blast Off hufffs in response.
<Decepticon> Buzzsaw says, "Is your intake jammed again, Blast Off?"
<Decepticon> Arachnae says, "Airlift, don't bait Blast Off, not here, not now. We're trying to get Scorponok back to some semblance of stability. Pay attention to the details and for primus' sake, share if you see something weird.. Well.. weirder."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "Where are YOU anyway, Buzzsaw?"


Fortress Maximus hands a shiny +nom to you for doing great RP!


<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "Very well, Arachnae. I am encountering some odd things. I shall investigate and report."
Arachnae pads after Scorponok, keeping a distance, but watching him. "Should we sit, sir or is there another concern that needs to be addressed?" Querying, perhaps a question or three could help direct the Id.
Rumble has dutifully, if a bit reluctantly, followed behind Scorponok, watching the bizarre dinnertime dreamscape unfold. He glances at 'Nae, then looks back toward Scorponok. Somehow, he has a feeling that what's inside that chest is not cool. At all. And he probably doesn't want to see it. A slight feeling of unease sets in.
<Decepticon> Buzzsaw says, "You should know better, Blast Off. I am everywhere you don't think I am."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "If I find out you're in my cargo bay, I'm setting off the fire alarms. Including the fire retardant foam."
<Decepticon> Buzzsaw says, "And short yourself out internally?"
<Decepticon> Buzzsaw says, "Yes. I am in your cargo bay."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "Nice try. Also, no, it doesn't short me out. Though... it does make a mess. Speaking of which, this reminds me for no reason... Rumble, don't you still owe me something?"
Dutifully, Airlift takes a seat at the table, looking over to Llyra. He's simply not sure at all what to say to the woman, so remains silent, waiting for his..err..commander to lead the discussion in a meaningful fashion. He glances around for Arachnae and Rumble, as though to reassure himself that he's not been abandoned to the madness that is Scorponok's confused mind.
<Decepticon> Buzzsaw says, "It'll short you out now that I've removed the interior panels."
Space Shuttle <Blast Off> continues following the voice. He almost said on Con channel that he was hearing voices... but that might not sound exactly right... so he didn't. The Combaticon isn't pleased that this voice didn't identify itself. He reaches... he's not exactly sure. The edge of space? A... chest superimposed in it? It's a dreamscape and hard to tell. The shuttle transforms and, holding his ionic blaster in hand (don't know if it will help here, but never know...) he hovers there and looks around for an opening- and debates whether he should open it. "Where is this opening? And... Why should I? You haven't identified yourself."
<Decepticon> Airlift says, "Buzzsaw, those things are a pain to put back into place and he whines in medbay for a week if it's not done.."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "WHAT? *starts running scans*"
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "I do not whine."
<Decepticon> Buzzsaw says, "Hmm...now, what happens if I light a fire..."
Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode.
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "My scans detect nothing wrong- and that includes your presence. Now stop distracting me, I have business to attend to here."
<Decepticon> Rumble says, "Uh...yeah, I s'pose I do..."
<Decepticon> Buzzsaw says, "So easily distracted... why are you leading again?"
<Decepticon> Airlift says, "Err..Blast Off.. Who are you talking to?"
Scorponok whirls on Arachnae, like he's about to trash her, but that's generally how he reacts to most Decepticons in most situations. Eventually you learn to get used to it. "I... yes, we have to destroy Maximus! But..." He looks back at the dinner table. "I have to sit at the table... with HIM... but..." He grits his dental plates. "I despise him nearly as much as Maximus. Look at that... pampered, frilled *fool*. Like the worst of the old Cybertronian aristocracy before we threw them into smelting pools like they deserved. And men follow him. This *noble*man." The word 'noble' comes out of his vocalizer dripping with contempt.

"See, Father?" Llyra says. "Only one of them bothered to sit at the table, but even HE probably doesn't even want to be here!" She laughs shrilly as she throws an enercake right at Airlift's face.

"Llyra! Manners!" Zarak says, looking tired.

"Manners?" Llyra yells back. "They ruined our planet, they don't DESERVE such courtesies!"

Zarak stares down at his plate at that.

Back in space, the chest says, "Nothing to identify, I'm just a chest. And the opening? Oh, just undo the latch and flip the lid! It's quite easy, really." And it does have a latch and a lid... firmly sealed. Only one way to know what's inside.
Combat: Airlift compares his Agility to 50: Success!
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "Yes, you do. Let's not forget that, Rumble. Why am I leading? My skills, my intelligence, my aim, and the fact that I got stuck with it, that's why. ......What do you mean, Airlift? I'm... talking to Buzzsaw. Who.. else would I be talking to? ... What do you mean, just a chest?"
<Decepticon> Airlift says, "Err. Blast Off, Buzzsaw did not enter into the cortical patch with you.." he reminds gently, "since the coms only communicate with others inside the patch system..well..Buzzsaw isn't there Blast Off.."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "WHAT? What are you talking about? I can hear him loud and clear over the Decepticon frequency. ....Surely *I* am not the only one?"
Arachnae hops back a step, optics narrowing, rotors shifting behind her to half fan out. "Yes. You have to destroy Maximus. It is why you are here. We can't destroy him without you." Optics narrow even further at the venom in Scorponoks tone, "Yes yes," her own tone shading waspish, "They're dead and gone, those albatross nobles of our own. And where are we now? Awaiting another? Mech up. Face whatever it is here that has you all.. twitter pated."
Airlift is, apparently, made of quicker stuff if not sterner. His hand drops to the table and grabs a fork as the enercake is flung towards him, lifting it up and catching it mid air, stuck on the end of the fork. He lowers it back down to the table and deftly cuts it into smaller bites before eating a piece. "Ahh, my thanks Lady Llyra.." he says with polished smile towards the head of the table. "It is of no moment Lord Zarak..think nothing of it. All sentient creatures know of the impetuous nature of youth.." he says in an unruffled tone. He looks towards Arachnae and lifts a brow, "good bedside manner.." he compliments with a wicked smirk.
<Decepticon> Rumble says, "I ain't even talkin' to you, Sir Enerwine!"
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "You... don't hear Buzzsaw, Rumble?"
<Decepticon> Airlift says, "Ah..Blast Off..there is no Decepticon frequency. You went into the cortical patch alone..remember? You wouldn't risk the medics you don't trust accompanying you to save Scorponok..which is probably why you're in your current predicament."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "Then how come I'm hearing YOU? Even when I don't WANT to?"
<Decepticon> Arachnae says, "If I get stuck in here one nano click longer than necessary, there will be beatings. And pillow removal. And *no* more mints."
<Decepticon> Space Chest says, "This thing on?"
"Nice save," Rumble remarks upon seeing Airlift dodge the cake. "...Hey, you gonna eat that? Cause if it's brain cake, I kinda want a piece."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "What... are /you/ doing here?"
<Decepticon> No response.
<Decepticon> Airlift says, "I would assume, Blast Off, that it is the result of your deep seated acknowledgement of the superiority of the Unicronian intelligence. On the other hand, I would say that. My assumption then is that your damaged psyche latched onto a despised rival who threatens your meager attempts at relationship, so that you would be able to reject potentially life saving advice in your neverending quest for self destruction."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "No- wait, I want those mints, Arachnae. And the pillow. I *need* the pillow. My circuitry... it.... requires a certain... comfort level. For purely medical and military reasons, of course."
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "WHAT???!!! That... that makes NO sense. NONE at ALL. Do you even KNOW me?!? I...I...unequivocally DENY ALL of IT. You're obviously... deluded. Yes, that's it. *loud hufff and radio crackles*"
<Decepticon> Blitzwing says, "..."
Lord Zarak sighs at Airlift. "Alright, then, so long as you... made it through unscathed, I suppose." But Llyra seems none too pleased, glaring daggers at the weird Unicronian robot.

"You robotic monsters better not get used to staying on Nebulos," Llyra says. "Because my daddy's whipped up something that'll keep you off our planet *forever*. Just you wait and see. We Nebulans have ALL KINDS of surprises in store for you. That fuel poison was just the start. And the funny thing is?" She grins, leaning forward across the table. "Daddy has the cu--"

"LLYRA! Enough!" Zarak snaps at her.

Scorponok, meanwhile, fixes Arachnae with a glare that suggests he wants to kill her. His claws twitch. But the thing about Scorponok is, he actually respects a guy--or gal--who can tell him to his face what they think of him. "...alright. You're right, of course. Life is a journey of various pains, after all--and although the physical pains are the easiest to deal with, there are others that must be confronted from time to time." He begins to march to the head of the table opposite from Zarak, but as he does...

"NO!" Llyra screams, bolting to her feet and grabbing onto Scorponok's arm, physically restraining him from taking another step. Even Scorponok seems shocked. "Daddy, throw them all OUT!"
Blast Off is getting distracted... first by the Decepticon channel... or... IS there one, he's not even sure anymore at this point?.... and that "chest". He hovers, eying it suspiciously.... "Just a chest? Oh well, this isn't at ALL suspicious then, is it?" He snarks. But unfortunately it sort of has a point. The Combaticon reaches for the opening- ah, there it is.... hesitates a second, beginning to wonder exactly WHAT is going on and what is real and what's not (again, no thanks to the Con channel).

He finally huffs in exasperation, shaking his head as if to clear it... and decides what the slag- he's going to take action. And he's not speaking of any of this on the Con channel. Again- if there even IS one?! Gah. The shuttleformer reaches over, unlocks the hatch, and opens the chest. And hopes for the best.
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "Great- and let me guess, no one heard that either?"
<Decepticon> Blast Off says, "I *will* find out where that's coming from one of these days....."
<Decepticon> Blitzwing says, "*!@#!"
<Decepticon> Blast Off makes another exasperated huff.
The chest opens. Slowly, a face emerges over the edge. Ah, a Nebulan. And there's the rest of him, floating out the chest. Oh, he seems to be dead. And there's another Nebulan floating out. And another. And another. And.. hundreds of them, more than should be able to fit into the chest.

Then, Blast Off can hear Zarak's voice booming directly into his mind, a scream of rage that drowns everything else out. "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND?! I did it for my people! I did it for Nebulos! The few had to be sacrificed for the many! And you would judge me for that!? WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND!!!" Visions of screaming people and dying people flash before Blast Off's optics, then it's over. The chest is gone, and so are all the dead people.
Arachnae returns the glare with a mild expression, a brow lifting. When feeling strongly about something, she's got the bearings to say it. "Pain is lives way of teaching. Wihtout it, we'd never grow." She turns to follow then flares rotor blades behind her as Scorponok gets grabbed. Weird. "Kindly remove your hands madame or the hands will be removed for you." She murmurs in a polite tone, despite the words. "This is between Zarak and Scorponok now." <<Airlift, if things go pear shaped, we left interns monitoring life signs...>>
Blast Off watches with disgust as a dead Nebulan... and then several... and then HUNDREDS... come pouring out of the chest. Organics are disgusting alive- dead and possibly decomposing? Even more so. Then Zarak's voice screams inside his head, and the Combaticon flinches and staggers back, clutching the sides of his head. "Argh!" The voice- and the rage- directly inside his mind is a bit much. The Combaticon's had people mess with his head before- it's never pleasant... and he starts shaking his head, still clutching it and staggering backwards. Or perhaps he's tumbling backwards... this is a space dreamscape and it's all so very... confusing.

The visions are quite terrible, too. While Blast Off himself has little sympathy for "mere" organics, he's seeing- and experiencing- some of what Zarak felt, and that is quite... horrible to behold. It's... painful. "Stop! Get...OUT!" And then, like that- they are gone. The Combaticon gasps and falls back... temporarily almost dizzy from the experience. Slowly, he straightens up again and tries to regain some composure. But... he's uncertain whether he should even speak of this to the others or not.

Airlift is, for his part, still seated at first until Arachnae moves to try and intervene to stop Llyra's interference in this strange little drama unfolding within the minds of..well..it's hard to say who's mind at this point. Airlift rises form his seat and walks over towards the grouping, withdrawing his huge energy scythe as he does. Only in this strange pseudo-reality of mindwarped memories, there's no telling what exactly the weapon actually looks like when it crackles to life. "I'd suggest you do as Arachnae says flesh creature. Scorponok and Zarak would appear to have business together..and it's not your place to interfere in the affairs of giants.." He delays, giving a moment for compliance before more..direct..actions are taken.
Rumble nods in agreement with what Airlift says, standing there looking tough beside Airlift and 'Nae. "Yeah," he says, folding his arms across his chestplate, because that means business.
Zarak rises from his table at this point, holding his hands up to try and calm the situation down. "Now, stop! That is my daughter! No one shall lay a hand on her!"

Llyra glares at the three Decepticons lining up against her, as if assessing her odds. There's an odd look in her eyes, like the look of a determined killer, and not the nobleman's daughter that she's supposed to be. "Well. Okay then," comes a deeper, male voice from her mouth. Her mouth? Sorry, that's actually Silas holding onto Scorponok. "I guess the odds aren't in my favor. You can have your precious Scorponok back, now, but there will always be a little piece of me in here..." He smirks before he fades away.

"But--" Zarak stares at what just happened, confused. "That was..."

"She was holding us back, like she always has, Zarak!" Scorponok says as he pulls his seat out to sit in it. "Though that may have actually been an impostor, the real Llyra has never done you much good either. Perhaps one day you'll see that." And he sits his aft down on the chair, glaring across the table at Zarak before the dream abruptly ends.

Scorponok's optics flicker online, and he tries to sit up, only to find himself restrained to a table. With an angry grunt he wrenches his arms free, and as he sits up, something snags his head. He reaches for it, whatever it was, yanking it free. He stares at the business end of the cortical patch disapprovingly. "Hngh."
Oh dear...what exactly happens when one is inside a dream and it...ends? Airlift doesn't particularly want to find out, and pushes the 'emergency psyche dump' button he'd put into place before going in. Of course it was a blanket escape mechanism..he figured Arachnae would stick around to play doctor even after things had gone sideways and irrecoverable. It's probably a jarring sensation to have ones-self ripped back to reality, if everyone even makes it. Ah well, that's the fun of playing with SCIENCE after all. "Nnnhhhhhh" comes the Reaver's voice as he slowly sits up and looks around, readjusting to his environs.. (assuming he gets out..if not..well..Airlift flits around haunting Scorponok's good dreams with four armed Nebulon women)
Blast Off is still reequilibrating from his unwanted lesson in empathy when he suddenly finds he has woken. The Combaticon blinks and stares at the ceiling of the medbay. Or he hopes it is. At this point reality and illusion seem intertwined. He hears Scorponok coming to, and glances over towards him, then back to the ceiling. Or the...whatever the slag it /really/ is. He's just going to lie here quietly for awhile until things makes more sense. Which... given HIS life, ....might be a long time coming.
Rumble leaps up off the floor. "Dat's IT, I'm pyle-drivin' him!!!" He brings his pylons out, then looks around in confusion. "WHAT."
Scorponok rips the restraints off of his legs, and lowers himself from the table onto the ground. He staggers a bit, having been out for so long, but catches himself. "So. I'm finally back in my own body. Some sort of... hack, right into my brain, it seems. And I did have the strangest dream." He glares at the other Decepticons as they recover. "I'm going to give all of you just one warning. Whatever you learned in there, you keep to yourself... *or I'll kill you.*" And that's all the thanks they get as he makes for the door.
Blast Off ...is perfectly happy to pretend none of this ever happened, anyway. He just stares at Scorponok and then... goes back to staring at the ceiling.
Airlift looks up at Scorponok's ranting and lifts a brow, "Ahhh gratitude in the Empire...you're right Blast Off, it truly warms the circuits.." he says as though agreeing to something unheard. Getting down off of his own table he checks over everyone else, "Hmm..a few of them will require a rest cycle to process the outload from the..simulation..but it looks like everyone will recover nicely.." he says as he examines the datafeeds.
Blast Off blinks... a bit confused at Airlift's comment. He glances over, then away again. But he's not saying a thing. Nope. Nuh-uh. Back to staring at the ceiling now. Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt...... >_>
You have already used up your +noms for the week.
"You guys okay?" Rumble glances around as he puts his pylons back in. He looks over at Blast Off. "Boy, I'm glad we don't live in a processor. But wait, what if we DO? An' we just don't know it? What then??"

Blast Off just groans, "I don't... KNOW. I don't WANT to know." He grimaces under his faceplate and grabs his custom medbay pillow, trying to wrap it around his audio sensors so Rumble- and everyone else... can just stop confusing him now. Some days he has to wonder if he's really even outside the Detention Center or not..... Maybe Starscream was just a dream.
Airlift moves over to Scorponok, pulling out a medical scanner as he approaches. "Do you require further medical assistance?" he asks as he approaches, "it would appear that, since Swindle is incompetent, Dustoff is unavailable, and Arachnae is..indisposed.." he glances back at where she's snoozing after the mind dive, "I am once again the only trained medic on duty should you require surgeons more adept than the mindless drones down in Nova Cronum.." He folds four arms across his chest as he waits..not scanning without the 'commanders' permission.
Rumble stares at Blast Off for a little while, whether out of some semblance of pity or perhaps just morbid curiosity, it's hard to tell. Then, he finally reaches up and pats him on the arm, *pat pat* ...and retreats back over to Soundwave's corner to keep vigil over him.
Blast Off blinks again, glancing at Rumble's small act of kindness... which just confuses him all the more. Back to staring at the ceiling. Though.... perhaps a little less stressed now. But just as confused.
Rumble flies up onto the medtable where Soundwave is resting, and he just sits there at the end of Soundwave's medtable, like some tiny sentry. The only reason he doesn't have his weapon out is because Airlift probably wouldn't like that.