Trypticon Training Room

This stark, spacious chamber is well-reinforced and shielded to stand up to the strain of many practice bouts. A training drone stands in one corner of the room, ready for a workout. The walls are sheathed in protective alloys that house sensors and cameras to project to the shielded monitors, allowing the combatants to observe their fight and progress. Off to the side are a few seats for spectators to observe the combatants and let out a cheer or two.

Contents:

Scourge

Training Drone

Obvious exits:

West <W> leads to Trypticon Troop Quarters.

Standing near the console after a rather short training session to make certain he was still on his proverbial toes, Scourge eyes the display with some slight interest. What he's looking at is anyone's guess, unless they manage to sneak a peek... and then, they see readouts from several different training missions on a certain pastel yellow Seeker. A thin, evil smile appears on his face for a moment, then quickly vanishes. He's fairly sure Fleet will be down here soon enough to continue his exercises. And Scourge has something different planned this time for the poor Seeker.

And almost as though summoned, the poor Seeker enters, walking unknowingly into the trap laid for him. Fleet steps in the door and immediately glances around. Occupied... Sweep. Scourge. Deciding that avoidance would be foolish, the jet steps all the way in and offers a proper Decepticon salute. "Commander," he says formally by way of greeting.

Scourge turns slightly to see the new arrival as he hears the doors open, and for just a split second, that thin little evil-looking smile flickers across his face. "Fleet... I see you've been keeping yourself rather busy lately, what with all the... botanical raids?" He shakes his head slowly. "I'm not certain I even want to know who's idea that was. But no matter. You are here to continue the exercises Geist left for you, I would assume?"

Well, if Scourge were to look it up, Verdant was officially the mission leader for that little outing (never mind that Fleet was the one giving the orders because Verdant is USELESS in a field command position). Fleet makes a slight face at the mention of the raid, but doesn't comment on it. Instead he simply ducks his head quickly in agreement. "I am, sir," he replies.

You paged Jazz with 'and soared downwards on his 'side', and nearly brushing the pavement between cars with a wingtip.'.

Scourge nods slowly after a moment, then taps a few keys, loading up the parameters for the session Geist had in mind. The holographic projectors come alive, and the plain training room suddenly becomes something else... looks like an Earth city, but in ruins, as if in the aftermath of some sort of apocalyptic confrontation. The drone... well, strangely enough, the drone appears to be nowhere in sight. Curious.

Almost the moment the scene changes, Fleet is in the air, preferring, as he does, being able to take full advantage of his maneuverability... plus it allows him to look around, to better see what direction any threat is coming from, and more directions to run in, should it come to that. His optics immediately begin scanning the setting once he has a fair bit of height.

Scourge watches Fleet for several moments, stifling a small chuckle at the Seeker's movements. Quite certain that Fleet is looking for the drone as the threat, yet another of those thin evil-looking smiles appears on his face. Once Fleet heads off in some direction, however, is when the trap is sprung.

Lifting up on anti-gravs, Scourge flies up to the top of one of the ruined buildings, and waits. Soon enough, Fleet will discover the sad, sad truth...

This mission has no drone.

Fleet is looking for a threat... and the drone can look like anything. But right now he's just... looking, staying low and dodging around the buildings so as to keep a form of cover near. Open sky is all well and good, but given the architecture of Cybertron, Seekers are /used/ to ducking among tall buildings. Truth be told, overall Earth is too flat for most of their tastes. But for the moment, he has not yet spotted that Scourge has taken to the air. As soon as he does, he will realize...

Scourge continues to watch, and then idly pulls out his plasma rifle from subspace, inspecting it carefully for a few moments, then tucking it away again. And still, he just waits. Evidently, he wants Fleet to see and know the truth of this training mission.

Fleet turns around and sees that Scourge, also, has taken to the sky. Straxus! His optics widen briefly with fear until he reminds himself that damage taken in the training room does not stay... but then, he also knows that a Sweep once override that safety feature against a Seeker. Scrap.

Dammit.

Well, he regularly fights the drone despite the fact that it considerably overpowers him, and then there's the Aerialbots. You can't always chose your battles, after all... but still he doesn't move to attack just yet, only watches... just to see if he's wrong.

Scourge smirks slightly, watching as Fleet turns and sees him also airborne. Then he radioes to the Seeker. "Interesting... you finally see the threat, and yet you do nothing. Hoping that I'll bring out the drone instead, perhaps?"

Right. Suspicion confirmed, it's now time to take the offensive. "Considering I was recently ordered to apologize to a flesh creature by Commander Cyclonus, these days I can never tell what I'm supposed to be fighting," he radios back, even as he stretches out an arm and fires. The moment the shop leaves his weapon he darts off. He knows fleeing from a Sweep is ultimately futile, but neither does he intend to make this easy.

You strike Scourge with Shoulder-Mounted Laser Rifle.

Arrogance is Scourge's only real weakness... and he was arrogant enough to believe Fleet might just float there, indecisive, long enough for him to open fire and take the advantage. Instead, he finds himself with scorched armor at his left shoulder. He looks at the damage, then up at Fleet. "Well... you're beginning to learn. Good." His rifle appears in hand out of subspace, and he starts firing back at Fleet. o O (Now... what will you do this time, Seeker?)

Scourge strikes you with Incendiary-Cannon for 11 points of damage.

Fleet cries out as Scourge's cannon rakes across his back. Undue pride has /never/ been one of his faults, and he's never worried about someone else's opinions when he reacts to pain. He starts to fall, his momentum continuing to take him forward as he does, but his control of the sky quickly returns. The seeker draws his legs in and triggers his thrusters, turning himself upside down so that he's still moving away from the Sweep... but head downwards and facing his foe, so as to allow him to fire. His weapons click as he adjusts the mode.

You strike Scourge with Rail Gun.

The projectile firing coming his way, Scourge doesn't even try to avoid, but instead takes it in stride. His armor is dented from most of the fire, although the occasional projectile does penetrate his armor. Adjusting the setting on the rifle, he returns fire in a pattern... more to try and herd Fleet towards Scourge's right than anything else, but you never know what might happen with the occasional stray shot.

You evade Scourge's Laser Pistol attack.

Fleet twirls, yes, to the right, still upside down, spinning out of the way of the blast, then lets his legs continue down in the direction they'd swung up to earlier, so that he's effectively 'laying' on his back in the sky, head towards Scourge. Then he fires up his jets and starts flying in that direction before transforming, continuing to fly upside-down even in jet form as he fires his rockets and then angles down to fly beneath his Sweeply opponent.

Fleet transforms from robot to pyramid jet.

You strike Scourge with Rocket.

Uh oh... now a missile, Scourge wasn't expecting, and he twists around to try and evade. All for naught, however, as he's struck by the rocket and sent flying forward several meters before regaining control of his aerial movement. He twists back around, switching the rifle setting, and firing at the pyramid jet as it passes by.

You evade Scourge's Laser Blaster! Short Heat Bursts attack.

You paged Airwolf with 'Actually, so far we're three rounds in, I've hit all three, he's only hit once. But his hit HURTS.'.

Pyramid Jet (Fleet) is, quite simply, able to fly fast enough to avoid the blast. After he passes he pulls up, jet-'belly' still towards Scourge until he transforms. So far, he's only been hit when he's tried to run, so he stands (or rather, flies) his ground, firing again at Scourge when he gets once more on a level with the Sweep Commander.

The yellow Cybertronian jet unfolds, revealing the robotic form of the seeker Fleet.

You strike Scourge with Death By A Thousand Papercuts.

Oh, that was nice of Fleet... standing his ground. Scourge grins ferally, then charges, rifle disappearing into subspace. Evidently he has a change of tactics in mind... one that Fleet will likely not enjoy: namely, melee combat. As evidenced by the wrist-blade that suddenly extends from his forearm as he stabs forward at the Seeker.

Scourge strikes you with Claw swipe for 9 points of damage.

The blade cuts into the Seeker's side, causing him to wince in pain. His instincts are crying at him to run away now, but he's able to override them. Training room... training room... the pain isn't real. With that mantra Fleet raises a foot and uses it to try to kick the Sweep away and give himself a little room to maneuver.

You strike Scourge with Pastel Seeker Hookerboots.

Scourge lets the kick push him away, putting a dent in his armor, but giving him some room as well... which is unfortunately a bad thing, as the hilt of his energy-scythe appears in hand out of subspace and ignites with a snap-hiss reminiscent of the lightsabers from the Star Wars movies. Grinning maniacally, he swings out in an arc to try and catch Fleet off-guard.

Scourge strikes you with Energy-Scythe for 15 points of damage.

Shoot! Where did THAT come from? The energy weapon slices through Fleet's cockpit, shattering glass and then cutting into his face, showing naked circuitry beneath it. It's amazing the holo-effects they're able to pull off in here! And it HURTS! The Seeker increases the distance between himself and Scourge in the fastest way he knows how - by leaning backwards falling, making use of gravity to lend him speed as he reaches upwards and once more brings his shoulder mounted weaponry to bare.

Scourge evades your Shoulder-Mounted Laser Rifle attack.

It takes all of Scourge's self-control to not dive down after Fleet immediately... a good thing, as it gives him time to 'sidestep', if you will, the laser blasts. He watches Fleet plummet downwards, then looks up. "End program."

The apocalyptic city ruins disappear, as does the battle damage from the sparring. Only then was Scourge descend to the floor, watching Fleet very carefully. "How did I beat you?" he asks quietly.

Fleet falls to the floor with a loud *KA-THUNK!*, groaning as he does. It takes a moment for the question to register, and a moment longer for him to be able to process what's being asked, but at least the rest of the pain is done. He looks up at the Sweep as he considers the question, pulling himself into a seated position before answering. "You hit. Hard." Scourge may have been using his lesser weapons, but the hits are still plenty hard from the Sweep's perspective. "That, and I let you get too close."

Scourge's optic ridge quirks upward for a moment. "Indeed... I do. But that doesn't precisely answer my question." He begins pacing around Fleet. "What was your first instinct when you saw me on the field of battle?"

"I hesitated," answers the Seeker. He pauses to consider the question further, one arm resting on one of his knees, the other hand going up to rub his chin. "That was foolish. You could have hit me then. And after I struck I turned my back on you. Another mistake."

Scourge nods. "Strike first, strike hard, strike fast. Finding yourself confronted with an enemy, sometimes it is the quickest way to achieving victory." He pauses, looking down at Fleet. "Instinct rules the pack," he explains quietly. "It is instinct that elevates us from the masses. It is instinct that allows the pack to function as a cohesive whole. It is a matter of doing what's best... which is typically the first response you have to a given situation."

He resumes his pacing. "You, however, hesitated. You did not utilize your instincts. That gave me the advantage, even when you acted and took the opening shots at me." A moment of silence passes before he adds, "Remember my words carefully, Seeker. Instinct can give you victory, and it can save you from lethal injury. But you must open yourself to it, allow your instinct to guide you. It requires trust... trust in yourself to make the right decision, no matter what. That is a trust you must build within yourself. Only then will you see... only then will you truly understand. It will change you, yes... but it will change you for the better."

But Fleet's instincts are to run! Actually... no. Not really... the running comes from habit of self-preservation, but being a Seeker means having been built as a weapon, and a weapon longs to be wielded. The pastel one continues to rest his chin on his fist as he considers this. Finally, he asks, "But... this current situation. It has me... a bit addled. I no longer know who I'm allowed to shoot at. Four days ago I was ordered to apologize for firing on a human who was allied with the Autobots!"

Scourge's optics flicker faintly. "Indeed... and what were the circumstances, perchance?"

"Catechism and I were running patrol over the Nile and encountered Grimlock. Shortly there-after, the Autobots arrived... Rodimus Prime was there, at least, I didn't see any of the others, and the EDC General, Briar." The Seeker pulls his knees up to his chest and wraps his arms around them absently as he looks off into nothing, thinking. "Cyclonus radioed for an report, when he learned the Autobots were there he arrived. He ordered Catechism and I to engage the aerial threat but then, after some... talking with those on the ground, shouted something about mistaking him for an Autobot and ordered us to offer our apologies and withdraw." Fleet makes a face. "I think it was something... political."

Scourge ahhs quietly after a moment's contemplation. "Political indeed." he replies with a snort. The tone of his voice makes it quite indicative what he thinks of politics. He shakes his head. "At any rate... remember this lesson." He turns, preparing to walk out.

"Yes, sir," says Fleet to the departing Sweep Commander as he finally stands up.