Elevator

The massive central lift provides access between the many levels of IHQ. An access panel in the wall near the doors contains the controls for the voice-operated lift. To operate, one simply says the floor number out loud.

Contents:

Earthscorch

Control Panel

Obvious exits:

Elevator Doors <ED> leads to IHQ Central Chamber.

Earthscorch nods at Fleet as the elevator comes to a stop. "Er, hello... I've been assigned to do some patrols... Just got out of the space bridge."

Fleet nods thoughtfully, a bit distracted. There are scorch marks here and there across his paint job, as though he's seen minor battle recently, but no obviously apparent damage. "That's right. I think we've been assigned to patrol together, actually," he replies, taking a moment to glance at Earthscorch so as to avoid being rude. A polite Decepticon. Oi.

Earthscorch whips out his datapad and glances at it briefly for a moment. "Ah, yes, it appears we have. Very convenient. Have you been assigned any particular location? My orders are vague on this."

Fleet shakes his head. "We're supposed to focus on the newly aquired territories, so my guess is we should probably start around Autobot headquarters itself. Which is just as well." He smiles. It's not a polite smile. It's not a nice smile. It's a Decepticon smile. "I haven't had a chance to see the rubble yet, anyway."

You step out of the central lift into...

IHQ Central Chamber

At the center of the main level is a massive octagonal central chamber. The large column that houses the turbolift is at the center of this chamber, ringed by eight symmetrical walls. On five of the eight walls are large double doors, and above each door hang banners of the Empire. Images of High Command adorn the remaining three solid walls. On the central wall opposite the entrance hall is the image of Lord Galvatron, standing triumphantly over Cybertron. On the wall between the Med Bay and the Assembly Room is the image of Shockwave and Soundwave, both standing at attention as though waiting for orders. On the opposite wall, between the doors to the Troop Hall and the Officers Hall is the image of Scourge and Cyclonus, standing ready to do as Lord Galvatron commands.

Obvious exits:

North <N> leads to IHQ Officers Hall.

Northeast <NE> leads to IHQ Assembly Room.

South <S> leads to IHQ Main Entrance Hall.

East <E> leads to IHQ Med Bay.

West <W> leads to IHQ Troop Hall.

Elevator Doors <ED>

Earthscorch emerges from the lift.

Earthscorch has arrived.

Earthscorch enters the area heavily.

Earthscorch says, "Let's go east, beyond the Tunnel of Retoris. We can make a loop around the equator, stopping at points of interest to investigate further."

Fleet nods as he walks, his steps still oddly light and... fluttery in nature. He shrugs his wings slightly as he looks back. "Sounds like a plan," he answers. Then he grins. "It's great to be back on the world my form was built for!" He seems truely pleased by this. Perhaps he was worried that if he had stayed on Earth much longer, he would be required to get an upgrade.

Earthscorch chuckles. "Yes, I'm ill-suited for Earth, myself. But let us be off."

Earthscorch moves into the air, pulling in his arms and legs until they are one with his body. His wings fold forward while his nosecone folds down. Where Earthscorch once stood, there is only a hoverjet.

Fleet waits... until he's outside before transforming.

You move south to the Outskirts of Imperial Headquarters.

Outskirts of Imperial Headquarters

This region draws little attention in of itself, only as a setting for the somber Decepticon fortress whose serrated walls form a jagged silhouette against the permanently dark skies of Cybertron. The surrounding area is completely clear of clutter, smoothly refinished, and painted a flat black to add to the Stygian illusion. A place this dark should be as quiet as a tomb, but there is a considerable amount of noise and traffic: Decepticon patrols coming and going, shipments of incoming supplies not only from the nearby city of Nightsiege but from off planet as well, the distant sound of ships taking off and landing at the Spaceport.

Contents:

Decepticon Advanced Troops #5844

Sensor11

Base Defenses Alpha

Base Defenses Beta

Imperial Headquarters <IHQ>

Obvious exits:

South <S> leads to Nightsiege Spaceport.

The yellow seeker smiles as he looks up at the Cybertronian sky. Sure, he's been home for a couple of days now, but it's still so /good/ after that organic world he'd been on far too long. He shakes his head. "I'm baffled as to how so many of our kind could stand to be on that mudball for /years/ on end," he complains. With that he leaps into the air and transforms.

Hoverjet hovers right along, letting Fleet open the doors. His hover engines let him fly perfectly well indoors, though his wings are a little awkward.

You move south to the Nightsiege Spaceport.

Nightsiege Spaceport

The spaceport is as pristine as the rest of the city, but it's here that you start getting your strongest indications of the sheer military presence that's housed in the Aerospace Headquarters to the north. The spaceport is divided into two distinct sections, as about a third of it is set aside for a small amount of civilian traffic and trade, and the rest is in constant motion as the patrols and strike-forces for the Decepticon Aerospace fleet scramble from one of the two landing strips. A huge stylized tower, dignified at worst and awe inspiring at best, rises over the landing strips, orchestrating all the traffic. Large hangars divide the spaceport physically. Positioned at all entrances to the spaceport are the best of the Decepticon's security troops, who, someday hope to ascend to the ranks of Aerospace.

Contents:

Autobot Shuttle <Alpha Trion>

Decepticon Advanced Troops #5848

Nightsiege Spaceport Hangars

Obvious exits:

Fly <Up> leads to Sky above Nightsiege.

North <N> leads to Outskirts of Imperial Headquarters.

East <E> leads to Courtyard.

Hoverjet arrives from the Outskirts of Imperial Headquarters to the north.

Hoverjet has arrived.

Somewhere inside the shape of the yellow tetrajet, Fleet grins again as he increases his altitude. "East, huh?" he radios as he adjusts his vector accordingly, already anticipating the answer.

You rise upward to the Sky above Nightsiege.

Sky above Nightsiege

The turbulence is still noticeable here in the skies east of the mountains of Cuprahex, but not to the same extent, allowing a clear view of the Decepticon city of Nightsiege below. Nightsiege is the brand new headquarters of the Aerospace division, constructed of materials gleaned from Earth during the Decepticon annexation. It is bordered on the east by the mountains of Cuprahex and on the west by Istoral Trench.

Obvious exits:

Fly <Up> leads to Stratosphere above Eastern Hemisphere.

East <E> leads to Sky Above Cuprahex.

Gates of Nightsiege <GN> Commercial Zone <CZ> Residential Zone <RZ> Spaceport <SP> Courtyard <CY>

Hoverjet rises from the Nightsiege Spaceport below.

Hoverjet has arrived.

Hoverjet hovers in emitting a low-pitched scream.

Hoverjet simply follows Fleet, being rather slow and noisy (probably hampering his fun a little in the process, due to said slowness). He emits back, "Most Autobot holdings are along the equator, so I figure that's a good direction..."

Hampering Fleet's fun? Only if Earthscorch has a problem with the seeker occasionally flying rings around him! Not to show off, of course - no, no, wouldn't do that - just to, you know, stretch his wings. Yeah, that's it. He answers, "Well, for that matter, a lot of ours are, also. But considering the state of the poles, I guess that shouldn't be too shocking."

* Spinny! *

Ruins of Autobot Headquarters

The broad, smooth-paved road to Autobot Headquarters leads ahead to massive gates, marked with the Autobot symbol... or it did once. Now the road ends at the mangled gates, and beyond it is rubble. The once-proud base was battered first from the outside, leaving shattered defenses and bodies, but at least the bodies are only the broken remnants of the statues of Autobot heroes, not the fallen. However, the explosives set off inside are what truly reduced the base to the widely-scattered pile of debris it is now, a graveyard of lost hopes and dreams. Or perhaps... a new beginning.

Contents:

Hoverjet

Obvious exits:

Fly <Up> leads to Sky above Ruins of AHQ.

South <S> leads to Outside Memorial Spaceport.

After a long and uneventful trip along the Old Cybertron Highway, Earthscorch descends straight down into the ruins of what was once Autobot Headquarters. Two front-mounted searchlights come on and begin probing the dark corners and alleyways. He comments, "Ah, this is like when I was first activated. The Autobots were all but gone, and every cycle I would go on patrol with my partner Airstrike... We'd poke through the hidey-holes for junkers and execute them. Those were some good times..."

Joy! Cheer! Isn't it lovely? Isn't it beautiful? Of course, Fleet had no part in making things this way. No, he was on watch on Earth, and odds are the coward was glad with the situation. Not that he minds going into battle as part of an unstoppable force, and rumor has it, that's exactly what the Decepticons were that day! He transforms and lands, looking around himself with a very pleased smile on his face. It doesn't matter that he didn't partake in this battle. What matters is that it was done, and now, once more, the Decepticons hold Cybertron. He looks up at Earthscorch and nods. "Well, perhaps they're returning. Not to seem over optimistic," no, no, that was Catechism's job, "but after all, history does move in cycles!"

Hoverjet grunts. "It wouldn't be the first time things have started to look up. But it's been an endlessly bumpy ride since Unicron came... We're good at driving the Autobots back; the hard part is making it stick."

Hoverjet flies through the buildings, his hover engines' keening disallowing any chance of surprising anyone they /do/ find.

Fleet is not, for once, worried about stealth. They are Decepticons! They are once more masters of Cybetron! But Earthscorch is right, making it stick is the hard part... so might as well enjoy the feeling while it lasts, even while you prepare yourself for the possibility that it won't! He jumps into the air gracefully, a dancer's leap that simply doesn't end, and remains in robot mode as he darts about, enjoying the devastation. "I can't argue with that. It's like I said, they're cycles to deal with. But this time, not only do we have Cyberton, we've got a stronger presence on Earth than last time we held the planet. We're actually..." He stops suddenly mid-air and widens his optics as he realizes something. "We're... we're ahead!" The last would be barely audible were it not also transmitted over radio, as though Fleet fears that by saying it, he'd make it go away.

Hoverjet chuckles as he continues his movements, speaking loudly enough to be heard, "Yes, that doesn't seem to happen very much these days does it? Earth was always been the Autobot's last resource, and we're almost as strong a presence there as we've ever been, right now. Plus we don't have to worry about the Quintessons or Unicron interrupting us. Even the Junkions have been staying out of our business lately. Unfortunately, the Autobots excel at superheroics when their backs are to the wall... We must proceed with caution."

Fleet looks over towards Earthscorch from his spot of examining a particularly interesting bit of rubble - broken buildings are one thing, but there are few things as exciting as broken Autobots! "Well, of course," answers Fleet. "Even if that weren't a problem... we've got a whole galaxy to conquer. With a goal like that, one can /never/ let their guard down, or allow themselves to become overconfident." He trails off, musing that perhaps he's hit on one of the biggest weakness his faction tends to suffer.

Hoverjet chuckles again, but with a cautious edge to his voice. "Unfortunatly Galvatron is a bit overconfident. He likes to count his chickens before they're hatched, if you'll pardon the Terran expression."

Hoverjet turns off his searchlights. "I think we can call it a day. I don't think we're going to find anyone. I have some hunches about where they might be hiding, however. But that can wait for another time. For now, it's been a wearying day. Let's return to base for now."

Fleet nods. "Right! Good working with you, again, Earthscorch." Truth? Lie? Who can say, but it sounds honest, and at least Fleet's not out here on his own. He increases the output of his bootjets, transforming as he rises. "I'll be interested in hearing your hunches another time, but in the meantime, yes... it's been a busy day, and I'm afraid I've still got more to do." Like get in another training session. Before the dance meet that he'd really rather not mention. Busy little Seeker, he!