Empress
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Predacon
Posts: 636
Likes: 35
Gender: Female
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Post by Empress on Jan 25, 2018 21:12:38 GMT
War torn by battles long forgotten, the landscape was up-heaved and cavernous. While this was common to most of Cybertron itself, the corpses were not. Dental marks disfigured the dead. Limbs were rended from torsos and chewed down to the frame. Optics and visors alike were shattered, though the face plates themselves gave way to little emotion. It was evident that whoever the victims once were, their deaths came with a mercy not many often received.
While all of this leaves way for feelings of discomfort, it is not the most peculiar aspect. There was a clear division of time frame between the corpses. A majority were already rusting away due to thousands of years of rest. About a dozen more were relatively fresh, though the killer's M.O. varied only a little. These newer victims had more lacerations on their shoulders and chest, and lacked the lower back scratches that the older corpses had.
If one wasn't deterred by the carnage or were even emboldened by it, signs of the only living inhabitant could be noticed. Impressions in the dust and rust gave hints to the killers size. Their small stature was enough to take down various sizes of prey.
Peculiar trails would converge every now and then, eventually becoming one singular rut. The worn out depression snaked further into difficult to access terrain. On occasion white lights could be seen flashing through the wreckage and quickly vanishing, only to reappear at a vastly different location moments later.
Could it be that the Ghost of the Rust Sea has comeback to haunt its old romping grounds?
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Post by ShadowZone on Jan 26, 2018 20:58:57 GMT
Not too long ago ShadowZone had turned his cloaking systems on, so that he had become near invisible in the sky. With the winds and rust, odd swirls could from time to time still betray that there was something there that ought not have been, but for the most part he was just part of the scenery or... just the scenery. When he neared the location from where he had thought he had located something, he saw the carnage and slowed down. He circled the area a couple of times, simply scanning what he saw. Some of the feed was sent back to WheelSpin, the rest was stored as data to process later. Emboldened perhaps by the fact that he had not spotted the beast that had done all this and thus perhaps it was not too near, he began to lower himself to the ground. He transformed just before he touched down and straightened up. Again, still invisible to the optic, there were some impressions in the ground where his weight had been distributed. His engines and turbines shut down to complete silence. He turned around again, carefully passing some of the damaged and destroyed bodies. He knelt next to one to check what damage it had sustained. He could not that some were worse than others but also that some were much older. Interesting. His gaze lifted up when he thought he had heard something. Did he? Or was it just the wind jostling some of the wreckage as it moved past. He paused, completely still. Empress
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Empress
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Predacon
Posts: 636
Likes: 35
Gender: Female
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Post by Empress on Jan 27, 2018 4:22:25 GMT
On occasion jet engines were heard overhead. Sometimes even the roar of grounder engines echoed far into the Rust Sea. What once was perceived as a threat was soon accepted as another nuisance or even a cover. However this noise was different. It was too close. The predacon could feel the vibration of nearing engines in the air. As a result she slunk further into one of the many hiding places her territory had to offer. With baited anticipation, the creature waited for the intruder to land. A slight tremor in the ground had signaled such. She peered through the debris, her optics scanning for someone that could not be seen. Very rarely did she feel complex emotions. With the day's deviance she was quite perplexed. Curious even. Though the scent of energon reassured her belief of another being in the area. Still keeping to the shadows, the creature began to pull itself along. The only sound that was made was its back portion being dragged through the rust. ShadowZone
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Post by ShadowZone on Jan 27, 2018 18:50:17 GMT
ShadowZone remained motionless listening. He amped his audials up a bit to try and discern various sounds from one another. There was a repetitive noise that he could hear that sounded rather unnatural. He tilted his helm in the direction of it and remained still motionless as his scanner reached out to see if it could recognise the signature and figure out whether it was just some of the vermin, the enemy or friend. He didn't move other than that however, an 'invisible' statue merely waiting for the other to show. rust particles flew about, carried by the wind. He would report to WheelSpin once he was more certain what he discovered. It was larger than the usual vermin, yet smaller than some of the Autobots. By what his radar image had given him, it carried a strong enough spark, similar but not the same to most vehicle cybertronians. It had to be something else then. Not a jet, not a grounder, perhaps more similar to those of the slightly more beastly form. He searched up the data for where he had encountered it before. Familiar, yes, yes it was. Months ago, when they had first landed here, he had dropped the sergeant on the ship next to one before flying of, chasing after his next target. He had not seen it since it was released from base however. Empress
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Empress
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Predacon
Posts: 636
Likes: 35
Gender: Female
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Post by Empress on Jan 29, 2018 22:05:39 GMT
Soon Empress' curiosity began to shift to frustration. A faint huff served as the only indication to that shift. Slowly the predacon moved towards the supposed intruders location. Her white bio lights increased in visibility as her cover lost density. There was very brief pause in the creature's gait as the scent she followed registered as familiar. An image fluttered in her subconscious before fading into obscurity. Perhaps emboldened by this lack of memory, Empress finally slunk into view. Her helm was inclined so as to better pick up on a scent trail. The predacon was a little worse for wear than she was before her liberty from the base. Her hind limbs were still missing, and as a result her underbelly was severely scraped up. The muzzle which had not been removed previously hung at around her neck. Aside from some rust spots, dents, scratches, and the aforementioned injuries, Empress was still functioning like her old self; although with less aggression. After a few more vents to cycle the air through her olfactory sensor, the predacon's white optics settled on where ShadowZone should be standing. ShadowZone
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Post by Flare Draft on Jan 29, 2018 22:23:13 GMT
The rust was disturbed as a black and red jet almost crashed into a pile of vehicons. Jets fired as it fought for balance before transforming. A 14 ft tall mech tumbled down the pile, knuckles bleeding and his left hand frozen in a fist. He cried out as he fell onto his face. Empress @ ShadowZone
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Post by ShadowZone on Jan 30, 2018 8:28:15 GMT
ShadowZone moved slowly even if he remained invisible for the moment. He came to one knee, which made him smaller in height, if not in bulk. The movement was soft and the tyre at the knee cushioned the touchdown. He observed the predacon, taking in the damage that he had kept and recognising her indeed as the one that left the base months ago, without the limbs and of a wild mind. He was ready to move, should she become hostile, but just as ready to wait patiently, if she chose this time, not to attack.
His cloaking slowly began to ebb away, so that parts of him began to be visible. It did not take long, and during the whole time, the jet remained motionless, his optics still on the frame of the injured predacon. "Greetings." Was all he said. He had not reacted to the noise a short distance away, though he certainly had made sure that it did not belong to an enemy. When he rechecked the database, he became aware that this was one of the traitors, the cowards who had fled responsibility,the deserters. He however was not a priority. The order to chase them down had not been given out just yet. When it would be, nothing would stop him until they were securely stuck in one of the prison cells at the base. But for the moment, the priority was this predacon and thus he would focus on her.
He held his servo out towards the small beast in a non threatening manner, keeping it turned in such a fashion that it was clear he did not want to touch or harm her, but that she was invited to sniff at his frame, should she want better recognition of who he was. His optics briefly gazed at her wings , then back to where her hind legs should have been. She needed a medic, though, by the looks of it, she had been expert enough at surviving without them. The metal however had not been made to be dragged and showed the skid marks and wear. He twitched his own wings before slowly lowering them, again in a sign that he was not going to attack, not verbal, but visual.
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Empress
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Predacon
Posts: 636
Likes: 35
Gender: Female
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Post by Empress on Jan 31, 2018 3:45:59 GMT
The beast waited patiently in place, her audios twitching to pick up on more sounds. A distant jet was fast approaching the duo. The only indication that the creature was giving any notice to the disturbance was the rotation of her audios. All the rest of her was focused on the first flier. There was an agitated shift in her wings as she felt the faint vibrations in the ground from the other gently kneeling. As ShadowZone's camouflage deactivated, Empress slowly tilted her helm, optics widening ever so slightly. There was a small tremor in her jaw while the other spoke, and she responded with a deep 'guh' that could have passed for one of her typical noises. With the stranger's servo outstretched to her, the creature stared at it, her jaw parting slightly while she leaned closer. ShadowZone had the fortune of finding her on a day where hunting had been good. Empress would have shuffled closer had the forgotten jet not crashed nearby. Her wings flared out and swept forwards, throwing her form back quickly and sending up dust into the atmosphere. Within a matter of seconds she had returned to cover. Flare Draft ShadowZone
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Post by Flare Draft on Jan 31, 2018 3:51:58 GMT
Skyflare groaned and lifted his head, four emerald optics focusing on the mech nearby. He grumbled something about luck and struggled to his pedes, "I don't know who you are, but I don't want any trouble."
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Post by WheelSpin on Jan 31, 2018 7:01:34 GMT
"....Get lost." That was pretty much all that the flier said to the other flier. There wasn't any hint of annoyance in his voice, nothing. Just the flat, emotionless response that expected no response in return. The traitor had scared away the predacon, who had been so close to coming closer and showing at least some semblance of trust. Now she had gone and fled back to hide. He did not pursue her though. Going after her might have just made the need to run worse.
Instead he remained kneeling, just looking in the direction into which she had disappeared to, even his servo still outstretched. She could have gone further away than before. Fled from them both and they would be none the wiser. Still, he waited to scan the area where he had seen her last. His scanner was long range, he was not afraid to loose her, but he was also not going to press her. Let her come of her own accord, not be chased down.
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Empress
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Predacon
Posts: 636
Likes: 35
Gender: Female
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Post by Empress on Jan 31, 2018 23:00:09 GMT
Through the wreckage and rust, the predacon stalked. Light would reflect off of her remaining horn, giving fleeting glimpses of her location. Though even that had flaws when tracking her. What was originally seen as fleeing had turned into circling. Empress had sneaked a wide arc around the two fliers. The small mech was perceived as a threat for he had made much noise upon crashing into her territory. From one of the many burrows, the beast crawled out. Each step was careful as to avoid making any noise. Her optics were narrowed and audios flattened as she dragged herself a few feet behind Skyflare. Very briefly she glanced to ShadowZone, looking for something. Shimmying her shoulders, her wings began to unfurl from her sides. Flare Draft ShadowZone
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Post by Flare Draft on Jan 31, 2018 23:15:26 GMT
Skyflare sighed, " In case you haven't noticed, that's what I was doing before the storm blew me out of the sky." The closer she got, the more apparent his injuries became. Whether that's good or bad for the small mech was yet to be shown. ShadowZone Empress
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Post by ShadowZone on Feb 3, 2018 9:39:35 GMT
While the predacon disappeared from sight, he had caught glimpses of her a few times. Then she was gone for a while and all he was left was to wonder whether she had gone, or whether she had chosen a different path. In the meanwhile his optics briefly turned towards Skyflare. "If you cannot stand the weather, do not fly in it." It was basic logic to him. And his tone remained as even and flat as before. He caught sight of her again, but made little indication that he did. He waited, as if willing to see how that would unfurl and whether the predacon would crouch down to attack or whether she would approach them from that side. Empress
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Empress
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Predacon
Posts: 636
Likes: 35
Gender: Female
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Post by Empress on Feb 3, 2018 21:45:18 GMT
The intruder's injuries were noted. Though this information only served to benefit the creature for it provided information on where it was best to strike. This would put Skyflare in a very unfortunate situation.
Lowering her form closer to the ground, the cables in her front limbs tightened, prepping her to pounce should she choose so. For now there was a hope for successful vocal displays. From her vocoder a deep snarl rumbled out. Her audios were pinned against her helm and dentas bared.
She wasn't at all hungry, but she would fight if the intruder possessed any greater threat to her home and food stashes.
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Post by Flare Draft on Feb 3, 2018 22:09:54 GMT
Hearing the growl, Skyflare froze before turning towards the sound. Slowly, he reached into his subspace and pulled out a portion of energon.
Placing it on the ground between them,he hoped that his peace offering would be understood and excepted.
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Post by ShadowZone on Feb 7, 2018 8:26:40 GMT
ShadowZone remained where he was. He was not going to say anything about the energon that has just been offered. Oh, bots needed to learn on their own. And he'd already told him to scram, and as per usual, such a thing came to deaf ears. The mistake that the pred did was that she snarled. He would almost have tsked, if he cared enough. Sadly it was all the same to him except for the fact that they would need to return fairly soon. She was the only signature he had so far found.
"Deserters should make themselves scarce." He spoke in as even and calm voice as usual. There wasn't even impatience in that tone. He kept himself closer to the ground mostly to let the pred know he was not going to attack her and to make himself less of a threat.
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Empress
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Predacon
Posts: 636
Likes: 35
Gender: Female
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Post by Empress on Feb 7, 2018 22:28:39 GMT
Empress paused just long enough in her displays to look at the offering and then at Skyflare. Her features twisted from anger to disgust in a matter of seconds. The predacon lunged forwards, crushing the provisions, and swiping at the hand that feeds. She brushed passed the small flier, and loped as fast as she could towards ShadowZone. At the last possible second she adjusted her angle and continued fleeing past him as well. She skidded to a halt a few feet behind him. ShadowZone Flare Draft
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Post by Flare Draft on Feb 7, 2018 23:00:40 GMT
Skyflare cried out as his good hand was slashed. He'd admit that mistakes had been made.
But not just by him.
"I'm not a deserter. You people just don't know what it's like to be an Autobot anymore."
He looked at the predacon behind him, "And you. I don't know who you are, but I'm surprised you'd waste energon because of your pride."
His thrusters flared on, followed by a flurry of sparks from his forearm. His emerald optics were hard with anger as all four zeroed in on the duo. It looked as if he was going to take off.
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Post by ShadowZone on Feb 8, 2018 9:10:10 GMT
ShadowZone did not move when Empress ran directly at him. He even remained in the half kneeling position, his wings flattened back a bit in a non intimidating manner. When she suddenly changed direction all that moved was his helm and the light in his optics, that followed her as she ran past. He did begin to shift his position then, but only so that he could observe both the predacon and the flier at the same time without showing his back to either of them.
He had expected her not to take the energon, though he was mildly surprised at the violence of attack. "I mean you no harm." was said to the predacon, and as his servo moved again in her direction, even at that distance, his wrist was exposed to her.
With that done he spoke to the flier. "You have disobeyed orders and fled your station. You are a deserter." There was a tone of finality in that voice. It was a fact, no matter how one could try to bubblewrap it and put a lovely bow on top. Actions were judged, and those actions were condemning. "When orders come, you will be brought in and judged."
And that was it on the subject. His helm tilted back towards the predacon, waiting. His engines were thrumming away in a calming manner. He was making an offer, an in exchange hoping she would come with him, but he would not force it.
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Empress
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Predacon
Posts: 636
Likes: 35
Gender: Female
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Post by Empress on Feb 8, 2018 13:21:07 GMT
Pride. Preference. Palatability. Words held no meaning for the illiterate and uneducated. Empress stared at the small mech as he chastised her. Pride was never a factor in her behaviour. It was all primitives and impulses with her.
Her attention shifted to the other flier as he made faint displays of offerage. A slight raise to her helm and brief eye contact showed that she accepted. After all it was them that could get her back her legs.
Empress dropped her gaze to the exposed wrist but made no move for it.
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