Theft of Property

Log Title: Theft of Property

Characters: Destro, Ravage, Slugfest, Soundwave

Location: California, United States

Date: March 30, 2011

TP: Weather Dominator TP

Summary: Soundwave and a few of his tapes attempt to steal Destro's plans for the Weather Dominator.

<> Soundwave says, "Laserbeak, Ravage, Slugfest: Report to Communications."

Communications Room - Second Floor - Trypticon

This room is filled with delicate radio monitoring and broadcast equipment. The hum of moisture and temperature regulators permeates the room, providing background to the low murmur of intercepted radio broadcasts and monitored channels. Heavy computer banks digitally store the incoming data for later analysis. A subspace radio feed has been installed for attempted communication with Cybertron.

Ravage pads into the Communications room and right up to Soundwave.

Soundwave stands with Laserbeak perched on the non-cannon-bearing shoulder. The silver gecko that is Envoy is clinging near a corner of the ceiling. His visor flashes as he looks down at Ravage and Slugfest, "An opportunity has presented itself." He presses his 'Play' button, the window in his chest flickering to show an image of Destro's Weather Dominator. Soundwave continues to intone, "The human known as Destro... possesses plans for a machine that can... control the weather." His visor pulses as he looks at each tape, "We will... acquire these schematics."

Slugfest oooohs. "Us go get? Okay!" he says, wagging his stubby lil tail. "Where us go get?"

Ravage gives a pleased snarl, his optics locked on his master.

Soundwave looks at the condor on his shoulder, "Laserbeak has located him... in the territory known as California." He looks down to Ravage and Slugfest, "We depart immediately." He reaches up and presses the button on his shoulder, opening his chest panel. Laserbeak and Envoy both compact into their tape mode, sliding into the mysterious compartment.

Ravage's legs and head fold in, the jaguar's body shrinking as it changes into a black audio cassette.

Soundwave carries his tapes in his specialized compartment. You know, the place where your left socks go when they don't return from the laundry. He flies along toward California, a very specific goal in mind: the schematics for the Weather Dominator.

Slugfest sits in his tapedaddy's compartment, wondering how all thesse socks got in here but not complaining since they're nice and soft.

Ravage rests patiently in Soundwave's cassette compartment, awaiting his chance to act.

Destro is at a hotel in california hiding out while he looks for Dahlia Cole and the missing weather dominator plans. He doesnt see the tapedeck and his crew yet. He doesnt suspect Decepticons owuld want his candy.

Soundwave already had Laserbeak scope out the weapon designer's location. The communications specialist lands on top of a building two blocks away, attempting to avoid notice from nearby Iron Grenadiers. He reaches for the button on his shoulder, "Slugfest: Eject. Operation: Distraction." After ejecting the first tape, he presses the button again, "Ravage: Eject. Operation: Retrieval."

Slugfest bursts out and expands into his mecha-stegosaurus mode, ready for a rumble! Slugfest pops out of Soundwave's chest like a jack in the box. He lands on his little feets and starts running around and revving his chainsaw plates and just generally making a racket.

The black cassette quickly unfolds, enlarging as the legs and head of a jaguar flip out from the central body. Ravage lands lightly on his paws and paces away from the noisy Slugfest.

Soundwave sighs inwardly as Slugfest ejects and runs in circles on top of the roof. Outwardly, he remains rather bland and emotionless. He looks at Slugfest and points to the street, "Distract potential security personnel." He turns to Ravage, "Infiltrate venitlation system. Locate target's hotel room and retrieve laptop."

Ravage pads silently off, picking up speed as he heads for the coordinates Laserbeak obtained. The jaguar leaps effortlessly from building to building, approaching the objective.

Soundwave takes action to avoid attracting attention to himself: he transforms. After all, a giant, dark-blue Decepticon standing on top of a building is eventually going to be noticed.

Soundwave folds and shrinks down into his cassette player form.

Slugfest keeps making a ruckus, attracting attention and perhaps getting Iron Grenadiers to chase him!

The miniscule and unnoteworthy casette player emits over its speakers, "Slugfest. Proceed to street level. Draw attention away from target building."

Meanwhile, a number of Iron Grenadiers (cleverly disguised as civilians) have heard the ruckus coming from on top of a nearby building and are moving to investigate.

"Okay!" Slugfest says, and gets all the way down to street level, to lead the grenadiers on a nice wild goose (or wild Slugfest) chase.

Ravage waits until the Iron Grenadiers watching the building are distracted by Slugfest's antics, then slips into the building's ventilation system.

Soundwave often wonders why he let Rumble and Frenzy put together Slugfest's personality matrix. But no matter. He'd sooner place his laser core in a laser-power trash compactor than dismantle one of his tapes. Soundwave remotely taps into the hotel's WiFi, navigating the network and transmitting the data to Ravage: turn right at the next intersection. He ejects Laserbeak to watch from above the streets, to feed tactical information to Slugfest: three humans in disguise, all armed, approaching from the west.

Ravage receives Soundwave's instructions and makes the indicated turn, his sensors at full power, actively sensing all around him.

Slugfest leads the grenadiers on a merry chase through the city streets, just keeping far enough ahead of them to give them the false hope that they could possibly catch him.

Destro's personal military is known for actually hiring competent military personnel. While the original three are Grenadiers continue to to pursue the Stegotape, four others are moving along side-streets, attempting to flank Slugfest. Laserbeak hasn't noticed them just yet. Meanwhile, Soundwave continues feeding directions to Ravage, leading him to the ventilation cover that overlooks the living area of Destro's sweet. Soundwave urges Ravage to use caution.

Ravage pauses before the ventilation cover, his sensors directed into the area beyond. One human, lying beneath a blanket, motionless except for the rhythm of its breathing. Ravage watches for a time. When he's certain the human is not paying attention to its surroundings, a small laser extends from the jaguar's nose and Ravage begins to cut the cover away from the walls.

Slugfest just runs, pelting on little feets, not aware that he's about to get flanked.

Hotel's aren't really big on ventilation security. The laser cuts through the cheap metal like a hot knife through... well... air.

Ravage grabs the ventilation cover in his jaws just before he finishes cutting through it. He sets it quietly aside and drops into the room beyond.

SURPRISE! Four Iron Grenadiers pull Uzi's from within their tailored suits. Their sunglasses (making them look eerily like US Secret Service) carry advanced targeting HUD's, zeroing in on the Stego-Tape. Fortunately for the Decepticon, the Uzi is a submachinegun and fires relatively low-caliber rounds. Also fortunately for Slugfest, Laserbeak catches the glint of metal as the sun shines on the drawn Uzis. He transmits a quick warning to Slugfest.

"EEEEE!" Slugfest cries, as a few rounds plink off his steel stego-hide. He LEAPS into the air and uses his antigravs to escape!

Hotels also aren't built like the vault from Mission: Impossible. No pressure sensors, no temperature monitors... nothing particularly extravagant. Just a single Iron Grenadier, sitting there, watching TV. A few of the Iron Grenadiers who were pursuing the Stegotape snurk as he leaps away. One of them shakes his head, "I thought these robots were supposed to be tough..."

Ravage scans the area, searching for the target object.

Slugfest no care if stupid grenadiers think he's not tough! He's the distraction after all, in this mission. Now if only it was enough of a distraction....

The laptop is isolated fromt he hotel WiFi. The last thing Destro wants is a two-bit hacker tunneling through the Hotel Network to access his files. However, it is giving off a distinctive power reading... as is the television in front of Ravage, with an Iron Grenadier sitting in front of it. He has yet to notice the Decepticon espionage specialist.

With the Deceptitape fleeing the area, the Grenadiers opt to return to their posts. They turn from the street and start moving back toward the hotel.

Slugfest lands and stares at the grenadiers. "HEY! Where you going?" he demands, stamping a little foot to get their attention again.

Well the Stegotape hasn't really done anything apart from running away from them. Not even so much as a throw wrench at their heads. They ignore Slugfest for now, one of them even going so far as to flip him the bird.

Slugfest gets steaming mad. Flip him the bird, will they? The little stegotape charges at the grenadiers full tilt, revving his chainsaw plates.

The jaguar detects the second power source, his target, is beyond a closed door a few feet from the human. Ravage moves quietly, circling around so as not to catch the human's attention.

Now while it would be epic to see an Iron Grenadier get ripped apart by those whirring blades, it's kinda hard to miss a Stegotape rampaging down the streets. And the Grenadiers aren't exactly blut objects. They instantly break up, moving to defensive positions within alleyways and drawing their submachineguns.

Meanwhile, within the suite, the Iron Grenadier watching TV fails to notice the stealthy cat maneuvering behind him.

Ravage stops before he reaches the door, crouching down behind a sofa and extending a flexible filament. The filament slips into the lock. A moment later the lock opens with the quietest of clicks.

Luck is in Ravage's favor. The Grenadier on the couch is watching Bad Boys 2, and the click of the lock is covered by an explosion. The door latch pops open, the softest of creaks accompanying a crack in the door.

Ravage's sensors lock on the human. Once he's certain the creature did not hear the lock or the creak, he noses the door open just enough to pass through into the next room.

Slugfest watches as the Grenadiers peek out from alleyways. He looks this way and that, then heads down an alleyway, to scare some of them out.

There it is. Destro's laptop. Very possibly all manner of wicked toys stored within its magnetic disks of data storage, but most importantly are the schematics for the Weather Dominator. And there's Destro, napping on the bed. He's been so tired lately, after all... missing fiancee, and all. It's just then that the Grenadier on the couch hears the call for heavier weapons. After all, the Grenadiers with the Uzis aren't accomplishing much. They're using military tactics, fire-and-movement, fleeing from doorway to doorway as Slugfest advancing down the alley.

Ravage pads quickly over and claims the laptop, carefully closing his jaws around it. Hearing the human's radio call, the jaguar ducks behind the bed with his prize. He seeks another exit from the room, such as a window or perhaps another ventilation shaft.

Destro's room has quite a nice window, with a view of the cityscape. Only the best for Destro, after all.

Soundwave is also listening in on the communications. And while he's confident that his tapes can withstand some small arms fire with little more than paint scratches, when the Iron Grenadiers call for an RPG team, that's when he starts to worry. With the news that Ravage has claimed the prize, he calls for a retreat.