Backbreaker storms up to the front of the hall, then turns to face the other transformers.
“Well, I’m going!” he says. “If Megatron’s back, then it’s my duty as an autobot to put him down again!”
There is a fire in the gladiator’s words, beyond the simple patriotism he championed.
“Eh, whoever it is, I’m sure Cy’Kill could’ve taken him,” grumbled ‘Direwolf’ to himself, “Yeah I’ll join your fool’s crusade, I’ve got nothing better to do anyway.” He volunteered
“I’m in.” Stated Breakoff, stepping forward in his combined form. “I never saw much, but I heard enough to know that war is the last thing we need.”
“I-i’ll go…” Juliana said quietly. She didn’t really feel like even more fighting, but someone need to make sure these guys keep themselves healthy while they travel.
Maximus smiled, surprised by such a positive turn out.
“Now this is what I like to hear! Anybody else willing to go?”
The predacon said enthusiastically. The optimistic spark he was usually known for had finally returned.
Razorbite looked around as people volunteered left and right. Morons. He thought. They’re all gonna get themselves killed.
But, pondering it more deeply, travelling back to Cybertron would certainly have its benefits. For one thing, he could acquire countless more resources for his experiments than he could in this tiny town.
The plan was simple: volunteer to go but then bolt off the moment they arrived on the planet to lay low with all the supplies he needed. Sure, it was cowardly, but he’d never really show any bravery before. He couldn’t possibly ruin his reputation if he had no reputation to uphold in the first place, right?
And so, with extraordinary reluctance, he rather clumsily shuffled upwards from his isolated seat. “I’ll… go.” He said, still not quite sure of what he was doing.
Timberjack wasn’t sure if Backbreaker’s words were inspiring or concerning. But it was just the push he needed and comes forward to join.
“Cybertron may not have been great, but it’s still home. I’ll fight with you to save it, if we must.”
“I’m going too,” Hemorrhage speaks up. “If we’re seriously going to pick a fight with Megatron and whatever Decepticons may be with him, you’ll need a doctor with you.”
Tripwire stands up.
“I’ll join!” he says, raising his hand.
Darksting considered, and he figured with all the others help, he’d be good.
“I’m coming too.” he said.
“Alright then! Let’s get going!”
Maximus cheered, pumping his fist into the air.
“I want every one who plans on joining us to meet up in the ship yard. Everyone else is free to head home.”
Torchwing, Bluntforce, Axis, and Maximus all walked out of the town hall and walked towards the ship yard.
“Welp, this is it. We’re all gonna die.”
Torchwing said cheerfully.
“Oh come on. At least try to think a little positively.”
Axis replied.
“Fine. I’m positive we’re all gonna die.”
Torchwing shot back sarcastically.
Hemorrhage runs up to Maximus.
“Excuse me,” he says to the predacon, “would you allow me to stop by the clinic briefly? There might be medical supplies I can bring with us- if you think the colony can spare them, of course.”
Backbreaker hadn’t need for any extra supplies: he kept his weapons on him at all times, and so he marches off to the shipyard. Tripwire doubted any of the odd projects he fiddled with in his spare time would do any good on this mission, so he figured he didn’t need to grab anything from his home either.
Razorbite hurried off back to his shack and hastily chucked as much of his equipment as he could into a metal container he had laying around. Flasks, chemicals, you name it. He was practically moving house by this point, so he might as well have gotten everything.
Finally, he threw a cloth over the top to throw off any suspicion and lugged it over to the ship yard.
Once there, he placed it down and sat on the ground next to it, again diverting his attention towards the ground.
Maximus nodded.
“Good idea. We’ll need all the healing supplies we can carry on a mission like this. The outpost will just have to manage in the meantime.”
Axis passed by Tripwire while they walked to the ship yard, and took quick notice of the markings scrabbled across his body. She backed up a bit to keep pace with the odd maximal.
“Hope you don’t mind my asking, but where’d you get those?”
“Hello!”
Called a somewhat familiar voice from close behind. Princess Thea, of the alien race Vex, frequently visited this little outpost. Everyone here at least recognized her. Being as curious about cybertronian life as she was, she was known to get a little nosey.
“What do you have there?”
“Um, my… stuff. You know, uh… science things… and whatnot.”
“Thank you,” Hemorrhage says. Understanding that time might be something of the essence, he immediately transforms and speeds off to the clinic, taking advantage of the empty streets to drive a little less carefully than he usually did.
When he arrives at the clinic, he reverts to robot mode and searches it for small items he could take with him.
Tripwire looks down at his markings himself.
“Oh, I uh, guess I drew them myself,” he says with a little chuckle.
Darksting walked up to the ship yard, having already packed his stuff, and noticed his companions there.
“So,” he said, “when do we leave?”
“Fascinating.”
Thea said with a bit of a wide eyed expression. A pinkish purple gas could be seen shimmering behind her glass eyes.
“And tell me, what kind of science do you practice?”
Axis carefully looked the bot up and down.
“Yourself huh? You know, I’m also pretty fascinated with Ancients culture, but I don’t think I’d go quite this far to show it.”
“As soon as I’ve run diagnostics on our ship, and everything’s packed up. Shouldn’t be too long.”
Bluntforce replied, as he walked up to the ship they’d be traveling on.
The Sleipnir as it was called, was the personal spacecraft of Maximus and his friends. So it would naturally be the ship they’d be taking to Cybertron.
“I didn’t exactly design this thing with decepticons in mind, so I have to make sure she’s running at a hundred and ten percent before we leave.”
“Oh, well uh… I-I’d say I’m an alchemist, but I… uh… don’t think anyone else really says that. About me. I… don’t really think anyone says… well… anything about me, really.”
While he was desperate to end this seemingly aimless conversation, it did remind Razorbite about his daily ‘venom’ replenishment. And so, taking care not to dislodge the cloth, he rummaged around in his crate until he had a small vial containing a sickening green fluid in his hand. He popped the bung off the vial and placed it over one of his snake head’s fangs to let it soak.
Direwolf packed the few possessions he owned, his guidebook to everything, ‘his’ gun, a couple of tools, taking one to weld his final possession -a small metal box- to his wrist.
“Alchemy? That’s splendid!”
Thea said eagerly.
“I know an alchemist who lives in our palace back home. A wonderfully kind individual. He’s even offered to give me a lesson more than once. Though admittedly it’s a subject I struggle to understand myself.”
The outpost clinic wasn’t exactly the most well stocked medical facility in the galaxy. But at the same time there were definitely worse. It had all of the basic tools and resources one would expect. But considering the small town was hardly ever a place of large threats, there was very little there meant to treat serious injury.
Luckily for Timberjack, heading to the shipyard is where he needed to head to anyways. He locked it down before, but figured he could move remaining cargo. Wasn’t sure what all the bots here already had to bring and he has plenty to offer.
“If we need any extra supplies,” Timberjack says to Maximus’s crew in general, “I have some to spare. Though when we get back, my ship better be in one piece. She was a hard trade to get.”
Meanwhile, the Railroad Team lets the bulks go ahead first. It’s not like the giants were that fast anyways.
“This is it boys,” Railgun said, a hint of solemn in his voice.
“Just remember to–”
“Yeah yeah, we know, protect your girl.” Tie-Grabber says before straightening from Railgun’s glare.
“I mean the colony!”
“If Megatron gets this far, we’ll ensure it’s his last,” Machbreaker said quite confidently.
This gets a warm smile from Railgun and then they transform, racing off for the shipyard. They easily catch up to the others, but instead of heading directly to Sleipnir, they go to a ship parked near it. The ship would almost be considered a one-man fighter by most Transformer standards, but for Mini-Cons it was quite large enough. And outside it were easily ten, maybe more than a dozen other Mini-Cons. The station may not be as full as it used to be, but there were enough.
Reverting back into their respective robot modes, Railgun remains away from the ship as Tie-Grabber and Machbreaker got to join the others. From the pack, two others come towards Railgun. They shared the same color patterns and similar builds, so even strangers could recognize they were likely on the same team.
“So we’re crushing Megatron then,” Sheller stated quite ready.
“Well look at’em! They’re scrambling like a pack of cyber-dogs! I think it’s a yes,” Coverfire shot off before Railgun could answer.
“Indeed men, this may be our last mission. If we fail–” Railgun gets cut off.
“If you fail, they better be afraid! They have no idea the wrath that’s coming!” Shouts the steam engine Mini-Con Boiler.
Railgun smiled again. He knew even if not all of them were willing, even if not all of them could, his brothers always had his back. No matter how far, no matter how lost, their sparks would find each other again.
“Then may Primus be with us all. Move out!” Railgun orders.
He turns around, Coverfire and Sheller following behind as they go to board Sleipnir. The rest of station giving other cheers and shouts of encouragement as they move out to leave themselves. Everyone had their mission to complete.
