“What can we do in the meantime?” Gyro asks Maximus. Lunawing and Talon look expectantly at the predacon, as well.
“The bridge is this way, sir,” the crewmember- a green-clad woman with helicopter blades protruding from her wrists- says to Defender, motioning for the Autobot to follow her.
“It might be caused by the distortions,” Redshift speculates. “Hopefully none of that information is too important…”
The pilot’s holo-screen blinks as it matches the sensors’ readings with information from the ship’s archives. “Oh, you guys definitely won’t like this,” she says. “These readings match recorded graviton emissions from quintesson ships from the last war.”
Gravastar’s jaw clenches for a moment, then relaxes. Whatever she feels about Axis deciding to order her crew around, she keeps to herself.
“Megaton, Kappa, raise shields and ready weapons,” the Captain commands. The white-and-gold men respond in unison with an “Aye, Captain” and bring the Excalibur II’s armaments online, and an electronic chirping sound comes from one of the holo-panels around Gravastar’s chair. The lights on the bridge dim and turn deep red, and a low klaxon echoes throughout the ship.
Through the bridge window, Liege Maximo’s island home comes into view. The Prime of Lies and chosen to settle upon a tiny scrap of land girded by a rocky shore, building a simple one-story dwelling and surrounding it with a modest garden of trees and flowers from across the galaxy. Now, however, the garden is engulfed in flames, and half of Liege’s house lies in a smoldering heap.
A quintesson starship looms over the island, casting it in shadow. Slightly smaller than Excalibur II, Its hull is shaped like a mushroom cap, and light from Astrum’s sun hanging overhead shines upon dozens of irregular pores in its surface in which red mechanical eyes glow. A web of biomechanical tendrils sprouting from the ship’s underside wave and coil around themselves in the air. On the shadowed ground below, twenty-five figures obscured by the darkness surround the ruins of Liege’s house. One of them appears to be restrained in some multi-limbed contraption, and the rest all look up at the approaching Excalibur II.
The medical bay might seem somewhat cramped to cybertronians, but to Nova it would probably seem just as cavernous as any other room on the ship. Fortunately, though, it currently has only two other people inside it at the moment: Oreo and Moreyn, the ship’s chief medical officer.
“Certainly not!” Moreyn assures Oreo. “Yours is a fascinating tale! You just might be the most unique specimen- er, patient- that I’ve had the pleasure of examining.”
Just then, Axis’s warning blares over the intercom, followed by the ship’s red alert klaxon.
Salvage slowly approaches the feline mech and sits cross-legged beside it. “Hey, man, don’t beat yourself up,” he says tenderly to Niko. "She’s just scared, you know? She was taking it out on you- it’s nothing you did.
“…Biting her mech’s leg, though… okay, maybe that wasn’t a smart move.”
The hangar’s lights suddenly turn red, and the red alert klaxon wails. Salvage jumps back onto his feet as Liege Maximo’s island and its quintesson invaders come into view outside.
“Whelp, sorry kid, looks like we gotta put a pin in the girl trouble talk!” the Junkion exclaims.
