Chapter 7 - Hunting

Cybertron

Solar looked up at Contrail. Wherry, the clan's elder, was stood a few paces behind him, watching intently. Within the past few days, the young Cybertronian's training had been progressing wonderfully, each lesson sinking in and being used to their full extent. The final stages of his training would be made more difficult with Wherry's plans to move to a new location. Sparring on the move would prove to be a finnicky task at best, as the migrational habits of the dwindling group of factionless robots allowed for little rest.
''Now what?'' Solar promtped expectantly.
Contrail stayed silent for a moment then replied; ''Now you rest. We have a long journey ahead of us, and as you know, it is littered with dangers of the Decepticon kind.''
''We leave at zero four hundred tomorrow.'' Wherry said hoarsley.
Solar winced inwardly at the time. He was not an early morning person.
''It will be difficult to train when on the move, but the inevitable battles with any marauding Decepticons, will prove useful, and add to your mounting skill.''
''It is time to retire for the night.'' Wherry announced. ''Tomorrow, we will make for the north peninsula, where another group much like our own has taken up hiding.''
The old Cybertronian then walked away stiffly.


Epitaph

Once again, an argument was underway among the small group of Decepticons. Krusher scrubbed at his metallic face with a hand and groaned irritably.
''And I told you we should've stayed and finished them off!'' Jetstream snapped angrily, lenses narrowing on Hookshot.
''I'm not the one who suggested the stupid Latch Mine idea. That was you!'' The Constructicon replied, equally as angry.
''Will you two just shut up!?'' Krusher growled, ''You're giving me a processor ache!''
Both Decepticons went quiet instantly, optics locked on one another.
''Bet Jetstream throws the first punch.'' Roadtrain mock whispered to Steele, who in turn nodded, trying hard to supress his grin.
''Shut up, you two! No one's throwing the first punch, but me!'' Krusher growled. ''Now, tell me; Where are Raid and his underlings now?''
There was a moment when vacant looks were exchanged from Decepticon to Decepticon, then they all turned back to their stations and started working furiously.
''Well?'' Krusher prompted impatiently.
''Uhm...'' Hookshot mumbled. ''About two hundred and seventy nine miles away from where we last left them.''
''Do we go back and finish them, or carry on?'' Roadtrain asked.

For once, Krusher was lost on what to do. He so badly wanted to get back to Cybertron, yet he didn't. The Space Bridge was missing a vital component, and he'd look foolish for bringing back a dud Bridge. He thought a few moments longer, ideas and scenarios filtering quickly through his mind, giving him all kinds of solutions and outcomes. Finally, he came to a conclusion, albeit a grudged one.
''We go back for the Autobots. Finish them off then go and look for the missing piece of the Space Bridge.''
''What is the Bridge missing?'' Jetstream asked curiously.
After the whole fiasco with the repairs, she still hadn't had enough time to be updated on what was going on, so each bit of infomation that was given out, she had to piece together, bit by bit, like a puzzle.
''The teleport modulator.'' Krusher replied evenly. ''It was stolen by an outside source before we could fully dismantle the Space Bridge.''
''And it weren't an Earthling, either. They got in and out via the Bridge. Pretty slick, huh?'' Steele commented.
''And they managed that without losing limbs?'' Jetstream said in mild amazement.
''As far as we can tell, yeah.'' Hookshot said.
''They even locked us out of the Bridge's main system, so we can't figure out who did it.''
Jetstream looked at Roadtrain.
''And none of you can get in, I'm guessing?'' She said flatly, with a hint of mocking edging her tone.
''No. That's your job. Now get to it.'' Krusher ordered.


Planet - Muborthia

Running hard down the side of a hill on an old dirt trail that had been almost reclaimed by the plant life was a short, but slim figure with near black skin. White freckles ringed the young male's large, slit pupilled eyes. He beat back protruding branches that got in his way and as soon as the ground levelled out, he almost stumbled and fell into the loose dirt. Long arms flailing for balance, he eagerly spied the small, stone and wood constructed house in the distance, ringed by a semi-circle of tall trees. What the boy was fleeing would surely get him into some amount of trouble, as he wasn't supposed to be up on that particular hill, but for once, his random spate of disobedience would prove useful. Or, at least, he hoped. Weaving frantically through the intricately set up raised flower beds, he barged through the carved wood front door and slid to halt in the stone tiled dining room that doubled as the kitchen. The house was small, with two bedrooms upstairs and two, equally smaller rooms downstairs.
''Adraahn, where have you been, boy?'' His father, a taller version of the boy with jet black skin demanded.
The young male, Adraahn went silent. If he told his father where he'd been, he'd no doubt get strapped for it. On the other hand, what he saw up on Thieve's Hill was wrong. Very wrong.
''There's something up on the hill!'' He gasped, trying hard to regain his lost breath.
''The hill? How many times have I told you not to go up there? It is forbidden!'' His father snapped angrily.
''I know, but there's something wrong up there!'' Adraahn pleaded. ''I am sorry for going against your rules, papa, but we need to get a sorcerer up there now!''
''You are thirteen years of age, and until you are a man, I will not tolerate such talk.'' He sighed as he stared down into the wide eyes of his son. ''Before we send for Damarus the Grey, I will go up to Thieve's Hill and see for myself.''
He playfully rumpled Adraahn's mane of brown hair and walked through the door, Thieve's Hill in mind.

Adraahn trailed behind his father, stepping more cautiously over protrudring roots that pushed through the old path that he'd just barreled down moments before. He didn't know if what he saw was still there or not, and he hoped it wasn't. A small part of him wished it will be, though. He didn't want to suffer the punishment for breaking the rules, and then telling lies to cover himself. Finally, the steep and un-even trail leveled out and the small trees, shrubbery and brambles thinned, leading out to the peak of the steep hill, a finely grassed dome bigger than Adraahn and his father's abode, with a flat, circular mosaic of grey and white stones that seemed to have black diamonds burned into the rough surface. Four large pillars constructed of the same stone rose up around it, giving it a distinct aura, one that leeched fear and wonderment into the body and soul of any who dared look upon it that were not of the magic circles. Within the large structure, a jagged line floated, energies crackling along it's length. It buzzed and snapped and the hues of a thousand colours shimmered through it. Adraahn gasped and came up short behind his father who had become statue still, staring at the tear.
''It's grown.'' Adraahn whispered.
Inside the tear, both fancied they could see through to other universes, and planes of realities.
''Go and get Damarus the Grey now.'' His father ordered. ''I fear this does not bode well...''


Solstice

Galaxy clung onto the hull of the Solstice as it tumbled slowly through the darkness of space. She'd managed to get the others aboard to try and bring the engine's back online so they could stabalize it quicker, and more efficiently, rather than having the bulky Autobot clinging to it and trying to slow down the vessel's movements with her own power. Three hours had gone by, and she was very slowly and laborously succeeding, but any longer now, and she'd have to let go, her energy reserves depleted.
''What's going on in there?'' She transmitted tiredly and adjusted her grip on the hull.
She stretched her right leg and let off a strong burst of fire, trying to correct the Solstice's postion.
''The secondary engine should be back online in five minutes.'' Flashpoint transmitted back.
A set of smaller gears and pistons flexed and rotated, and the main body of her primary wings moved into a position much like that of an Earth bird of prey comming into a hover.
''Good.'' She replied. ''I dunno how much longer I can keep this up.''
She adjusted her grip again and shuffled her way down the battered and dented hull, slowly making making her way towards the fore of the ship. Once there, she gripped as hard as she could on the nose of the ship and employed as much force as she could muster to try and stop the nausiating rotating.
''Got it!'' Flashpoint transmitted abruptly.

The whole ship gave a shudder and a lurch, and there was a silent explosion of white, halo'd with the palest of blues as the secondary engine came back to life. Galaxy let out a sigh of relief before gently pushing away from the hull and making for the nearest air lock. What she needed more than anything else right now, was rest. She couldn't function properly in her current state, so she'd have to fob her work load off on someone else. Gundog was the first to come to mind and she smiled slyly at the task she would elect for him. As she neared the lock, something tugged gently at her feet. Puzzled, she looked over her shoulder, optics scanning the emptyness around her. The tug doubled in strength and her hands shot forward, gripping the outer seal around the door to steady herself.
''Let me in now!'' She transmitted hurridly.
The door slid open and she heaved herself in. Once she was cut off from the vacuum of space, she listened carefully. There was the barest of noises just on the edge of sound, the sound of metal straining to stay together. The inner door opened with an aggrivated hiss and Speeder looked at her as she sat awkwardly on the floor of the large chamber.
''You look terrible.'' He stated bluntly.
''I want you to run a scan on our surrounding area.'' Galaxy said sternly. ''There's something not right here, and I don't want to find out what it is the hard way.''
Speeder opted not to ask any questions incase it led to an argument of some form. He remembered the last argument he got into with the large female with a slight shudder. To this day, Flashpoint still insists on mocking him about it, as does everyone else who was present that day.
''I'll get right on it.'' He replied instead and promptly tried heaving his team mate to her feet.
Galaxy couldn't help but laugh when Speeder lost his grip on her and fell on his rear in the corridoor.
''You need to work out, boy.'' She chuckled and rose unsteadily to her feet. ''I'm gonna go get some rest. Tell Gundog he's on clean up after shift.''
''If he removes my head for it, I'll be haunting you for the rest of your existence.'' Speeder replied as he started back for the bridge.


Cybertron

Flare scanned the scarred terrain below as it whipped past in a flurry of greys, silvers, blacks and blues. Burnout had asked her to scout ahead with a fellow rookie who was designated Demo. They'd heard rumours that the village of factionless bots was on the move and were heading north. There was also an electrical storm building.
''Found anything yet?'' Demo asked as they slowed their pace slightly, realising that they were burning through more energy than they wished. Neither wanted to mess up on their first mission.
''Nothing yet.'' Flare replied, feeling slightly agitated. The build up of electricity in the atmosphere was making her armour tingle, something Demo seemed to enjoy, stating that it it 'tickled', but it did nothing more than annoy her, putting her off her task.
''Decepticons. You missed something.'' Burnout transmitted from somewhere behind.
''We did?'' The pair asked in near unison.
Static hissed down the open com line.
''Let's go and find out what we missed.'' Demo suggested.
Flare agreed wordlesly and both the small jets banked hard and came in on their original path of flight. In the near distance, forked lightning burst from the dark sky and struck the metallic ground with an audio sensor shattering CRACK, which left their receptors buzzing unpleasantly.
''Where's Burnout?'' Flare called after Demo, who was slowly starting to pull ahead again.
''What?!'' He shouted back, audio receptors still buzzing.

Flare sighed and sped up to catch him. A dark blurr whisked by and Flare transformed mid-flight, spinning around to face the figure. Burnout hovered in vehicle mode just a short distance away. She could feel his grin. She looked at Demo, who had finally noticed she'd disappeared from his side and came up to hover by her.
''Look.'' Burnout said in the tones of a patient teacher who had suddenly found himself in a subject he truly relished in. ''Down there, among that hill of debris. Do you see them?''
Both young Decepticons looked, optics focusing on the mess below. For a moment, neither saw anything but twisted and blackened metal. Then something moved. A slim metallic figure of reds, oranges and yellow. The factionless robot shouted something, then a large hand shot out from the debris and pulled him down. A surge of confusement entangled itself within Flare's mind. She recognised the figure. It was Solar. Within that instant, red sliced through the sky and slammed hard into the debris below. Another lightening strike and Burnout shouted over the din, trying to quell the sudden reaction from the two young Decepticons.
''Stop fighting!'' He roared and the pair seperated mid-dive, comming back up to Burnout's side. ''Demo: I will tell you when to strike.'' He said then transformed, panels sliding and rotating around a large bipedal figure, the rotar blades adjusting slightly so as to let Burnout stay airborne. Two red optics locked on Flare for an instant. ''And you: Control yourself. Personal feelings have their own time and place for use, and that time and place is not on the battle field.''
Flare stayed silent, but Demo couldn't help but vent his frustration.
''Why did you stop me?'' He snapped angrily at Flare. ''Those down there aren't worth anything. They're just taking up space and precious energy!''
Flare started to respond, equally as angry.
''Demo is right. They are worthless. They fight for no cause, and are therefore taking up space and energy that our army so desperately needs.'' Burnout rumbled, the small voice in the back of his mind relieved that none of the factionless bots had seen fit to launch an attack. ''Now. Our mission as hunters is to seek out any runaways and Factionless and either destroy them or bring them in for processing. Understand?''
The pair nodded and voiced their agreements, albeit a touch reluctantly on Flare's part. Burnout made one last optical and radar sweep of the terrain below.
''Now you may proceed with the culling. Just remember the rules and I won't have to dismantle you.'' He stated, and all three swooped, dropping gracefully to the torn ground below, intergrated weapons at the ready.


''Are you ready, Solar?'' Contrail asked sternly.
Solar looked up at his elder and said nothing.
''She's still alive...'' He mumbled numbly.
Contrail sighed and placed a massive hand on his shoulder.
''Yes. But she has been corrupted and thirsts for the Energon that flows through us. She seeks to extinguish our sparks.''
''I don't want to fight this one.'' Solar said. ''I'll help everyone get to safety.''
Before he could run off, Contrail grabbed his wrist and pulled him back into place.
''This is a war, Solar. We get no say in who we want to fight and who we don't want to fight.'' He growled. ''I, and the others have helped train you for this kind of thing. We have nowhere to go right now, so until we fend off these Decepticons, we are cornered. Now; stand and fight, or flee and die.''
Solar hesitated as he looked into the burning blue optics of his elder. Contrail was right. They were cornered, and if they didn't retaliate, they'd be easily crushed, especially if the three Decepticons had back up not too far away. The electrical storm had started, flashes of lightning forking down and across the sky, the massive booms echoing across the wastes, a sound that reminded them of just how alone they really were. Then the red laser fire started up again, this time joined by more. Shouting erupted among the debris of what was once a trading tower and Contrail and Solar fled among the debris, scoping out the best vantage point. Over the duration of the couple of days they'd spent thusfar on the move, they'd lost several more, leaving them with just a handful of villagers, all of whom were now being cut down by the largest Decepticon. Solar looked away, focusing his attention elsewhere when the large Decepticon brought a pair of large, black blades down onto one of the villagers, slicing cleanly through the torso. The factionless bot's knees buckled as thick liquid trickled from the slick wound, leaving glowing trails of shimmering vivid pink. Blue optics flickered and torso finally seperated from hips. The large Decepticon roared something unintelligable and moved swiftly onto the next victim.

Solar looked over the edge of a felled wall panel and spotted his sister fighting with a villager her own size. He watched as she knocked him down, foot planted firmly on his throat. He flailed, hands comming up to grip at her leg and heaved, dislodging her before she could shoot him in the head. She rolled and clambered neatly to her feet just in time to see a fist flying her way. She took the full force of the blow and hit the ground again. Solar slid down the side of the buckled metal sheet but took a shot to the shoulder, the sudden impact knocking him off kilter, forcing him to land awkwardly on the ground. He looked up. It had been Flare who had released the laser shot. Shock settled in and for a moment he couldn't do anything but watch as his sister beat an old comrade to death, her optics taking on a tinge of red as her anger fueled her fighting. Finally the villager fell and stayed down, unmoving. In one swift motion, Solar snapped out of his stupour and rolled to his feet, ignoring the pain in his shoulder where the shot had penetrated his flimsy armour and launched himself at his sister. He didn't want to take her offline permanently, just render her unconscious and see if he can persuade Wherry and Contrail to allow her back into the group. The sudden thought of what he was doing made itself known and he made a tiny miscalculation which left him wide open for a full frontal attack. Flare's full body landed heavily on him, knocking him down at an awkward angle. She landed a punch on his jaw and he grunted, trying to work his hands onto her shoulders to push her off.
''Flare!'' He shouted pleadingly, ''Wait! Why are you doing this?!''
Flare's snarled reply was lost in a sudden explosion, a tendril of lightning spitting down from above and slamming into the debris just off to their right, the force of it sending them rolling and tumbling down a steep bank of twisted metal. Both tried reclaiming their grip, but everything they grabbed ahold of either came loose or snapped. Flying was out of the question; the electrified explosion had been so close, it had knocked their propulsion systems offline, and both were in a state that didn't allow for much thought, especially since at the foot of the debris hill, lay a gnarled tear that pulsated with colourful energies.
''BURNOUT!'' Flare shouted as the ground and the odd tear came up fast.

You are not authorized to comment here. Your must be registered and logged in to comment