“Well, I’d be happy to hang out here. I honestly haven’t been the best with keeping company myself, so it’s comforting to know I’m welcome here.”
OOC: Off for work. Should be back in about 2 - 2.5 hours for my break.
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“Please,” the queen says, “feel free to inviiiiiite others. We would loooooove the company.”
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“I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”
She said with a pleasant smile.
“So what’s your name? Or, wait. Do you even have a name?”
“You may caaaaall us Arthropoda,” the queen introduces herself. Or themselves; hard to tell with the hive mind, as Thrift had said.
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Scorchlock nods and goes towards the elevator.
The hologram Gronius had spoken of was no longer by the lift.
“Us? Wait, right. Hivemind. What does that feel like?”
She asked curiously.
“The experience is hard to descriiiiibe,” Arthropoda says. She shifts her gaze to a trio of warrior-class insecticons watching her and Starchaser.
“Each new aaaaaddition to the collective consciousness brings new thoughts. Meeeeemories. Sensations. These warriors, for example.”
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“So, you all have your own thoughts and feelings like individuals, but you’re able to share all of that in some kind of collective network. Is that right?”
Starchases said, genuinly interested now.
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Arthropoda nods.
“If we chooooose,” she affirms. “Insecticons can connect their neural networks to that of a queen, suuuuch as this one.”
Arthopoda gestures toward herself.
“It briiiiiings many advantages. Soooome, though, choose to live independentlyyyyyy.”
“That’s facinating. So what exactly do you do as the queen?”
“Weeee give shape to the consciousness,” Arthropoda explains. “Provide ooorder to the chaos of thousands of minds swirling together.”
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“Wow. You guys are really just fascinating.”
Starchaser said excitedly.
“I’m really gonna like hanging out around here.”
Meanwhile, Treadquake rolled up to the frontline defenses down on the surface. Eagerly anticipating the battle ahead. He transformed to robot mode, the back half of his vehicle mode becoming a stationary battle platform. He took no notice of everyone else around him. If they weren’t the target, he had no need to care.
He pulled out his shotgun and pumped it. The satisfying click click was beautiful music to his audio receptors. But it was merely a prelude to the glorious symphony of slaughter which he awaited. He planted his feet, ready to jump into action at a moment’s notice. A devilish and hungry grin played upon his face.
OOC: Heads up. At work. I’ll be on for my break in 1.5 hours (10 min) two hours after that for lunch (30 min) two hours after that for last break (10 min) and then two hours after that I’ll be off for the day.
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Arthropoda again gives Starschaser another psuedo-smile. The green beetle insecticon produces another cacophony of clicking sounds.
Cocooned in their warp fields, the thirty-odd warships of the New Decepticon Fleet approach OL-2-C. Within their hulls, legions of treasonous soldiers prepare themselves for another battle with Salvation and her crew.
On the mysterious stronghold world, dawn begins to break over the horizon on the eastern hemisphere, gleaming off the armor of the Fleetcarrier and the crew members below her. Some wait in tense silence for the inevitable arrival of Bludgeon and his goons, though just as many were relaxing against columns of rock and jagged spikes of crystalline energon, the suspense lost on them.
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Starchaser looks down at the little one.
“Oh hey. Something else you want to show me?”
She asked happily.
Treadbreaker stood firm. Looking over his prized death-dealer. Making sure everything was set just how he liked it.
While he didn’t have quite the legendary reputation Starchaser did, he still had a notable name for himself, so it wouldn’t be too unlikely that some of the autobots or decepticons around would recognize him.
The insecticon activates tiny jets in its legs and flies onto Starchaser’s shoulder, chirping at her.
Indeed, many around Treadquake did recognize the wrecker.
“Holy slag,” an Autobot mutters. “I didn’t know we had two of 'em aboard.”
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Starchaser laughed at this. She just couldn’t get over the tiny little thing.
“Primus, you are just the cutest!”
Then she realized something.
“Wait. Do you want to stay with me?”
She asked.
Treadquake gave them a slight glace, before turning his focus back ahead. He stoed his shotgun and shifted his arms to their mini-gun configurations. Spinning them up, making sure they still ran well.
OOC: I apologize for my sudden absence. There was some easter based festivities I had to attend with my family.
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Scorchlock went to the control pannel and activated the lift.
The insecticon bobs its head up and down, chirping again.
“Thiiiiissss one traveled with another Decepticon, until he was killed in battle two weeeeeks ago,” Arthropoda explains. “It seeeeems he’s taken a liking to you.”
The lift carries Scorchlock up to the arena in which stood Zepar, the Splitter brothers, SideStep, and Garand.
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“Alright, what the hell is going on here!” Scorchlock calls out as he stepped out of the lift and placed his hands on his hips, giving the area a look around.