Sniper Duel

Log Title: Sniper Duel

Characters: Blast Off, Backblast Location: Eastern Industrial Plains - Northeastern Cybertron

Date: 2018 Jun 9

TP: March West TP

Summary: Blast Off vs Backblast!

''As logged by Boff’’

Eastern Industrial Plains - Northeastern Cybertron

 * Once a burgeoning manufacturing area known for its custom regulators, this industrial sector has seen some of the most violent fighting in the long and bitter wars. Its hollowed-out factories and shattered roadways display the scars of millenia of conflict. The Cybertronian Ministry of Energy and Nutrition lies in ruins, long ago picked clean by scavengers. While much of Cybertron is witnessing a new reawakening, Valvolux has yet to fully recover.

Backblast is... not actually hiding today. Mind, he can't really hide all that well because he's hooked into the public communications lines so that he can send his signal back to the main Suicide Jockey FM broadcast tower on top of the Rollout. He's sat against a corner wall, a thin fibre optic cable leading from his backpack into one of the few surviving utility boxes, which he's pried open with his khukri. A small stove bubbles away in front of him, brewing up some energon tea, while his 90mm rests next to him on its bipod.

"And now for something completely different." he says into his broadcast microphone. "The Hills Have Eyes, by Dozer."

[Broadband] 55.5 Suicide Jockey FM ARSEHOLE DJ Backblast says, "And now for something completely different. The Hills Have Eyes, by Dozer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfkJ9ACqgNU"

Blast Off IS hiding. He's a sniper, after all. Some Decepticons have taken to the streets, seeking face to face, fist to fist combat with the Autobots. The Combaticon sniper is /above/ such ...ruffian displays. No, he is a specialist (he's also a glass cannon who wouldn't survive a street brawl but let's not go there, shall we). No, Blast Off does things in a high class, high tower sort of way. In fact, he's UP in a high spot right now, in the perimeter, trying to remain in shadows hidden from view while he looks for a target. He's also trying to ignore that *blasted* music the Autobots are streaming on the broadband radio frequencies. UGH.

[Broadband] Roadkill says, "Another bloody music player? Ugh."

[Broadband] 55.5 Suicide Jockey FM ARSEHOLE DJ Backblast laughs "Hey at least I let you make music requests."

[Broadband] Roadkill says, "Then take this request: cram it up your tailpipe."

[Broadband] 55.5 Suicide Jockey FM ARSEHOLE DJ Backblast laughs "OK OK I got a tune for you." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iRTB-FTMdk

[Broadband] Roadkill responds with his own "music", that of the screams of terrified beings.

[Broadband] 55.5 Suicide Jockey FM ARSEHOLE DJ Backblast laughs and hangs up the line. "Cons, eh? What can you do?"

Backblast laughs and shakes his head, letting the song play. He shakes his head, sitting back to look around. He frowns... then shrugs, dismissing the sensation. He was sure, for a moment, that he'd seen a glint of reflected sunlight. He peers in that direction for a while, and then shrugs, looking through his music library for the next tune.

Whoops. Blast Off had just lifted his sniper rifle up to look through the spotting scope, but he frowns under his faceplate ...did the sun just glint off the gun barrel? He lifts his head to look, then moves his weapon just in case, seeking deeper shadows. Wouldn't do to give his location away! The Combaticon settles in, arms braced against the gun as he peers through the scope... he thought he saw some movement over there....

Backblast frowns a little as he spots the glint a second time. He reaches for his own 90mm rifle, slowly. No sudden movements.

Wait, maybe there IS something...or someone... in there. Blast Off turns the ionic blaster a little to the right, zooming in the scope's magnification on... is that a person he sees? Violet optics narrow as he tries to make details out in the shadows.... 1) He needs to confirm his target and 2) decide just where to shoot them, if so.

Backblast freezes in his reaching for his rifle momentarily. He freezes, immensely grateful that the drab grey-green of his Panhard chassis blends in with the native Valvolux streets. He suddenly snaps into action, rolling off to one side and grabbing his rifle. As he does so, he transforms and pops his smoke launchers. There's the squeal of tyres on tarmac, and when the smoke clears... he's gone.

With the classic transformation cog noise, Backblast folds into a Panhard ERC-90 Sagaie scout car

>> Backblast misses Blast Off with Smoke Launcher . <<

AHA! The quick movement, the roll to the side, reveals the other person's location. GOTCHA. Except... whoops, they've maybe got HIM, he notes, as he suddenly spies smoke missiles launching at him. Frag. Fortunately for the sniper, he's quite agile, which assists him in making a roll of his own, then leaping from the spot, narrowly avoiding impact. His perch is a smoldering mess now, but he has space to leap to another crag on the tower, then just hover up to the top. Blast Off gains a higher viewpoint, still using some of the tower as cover as he tries to find his attacker and return the favor.

>> Blast Off strikes Backblast with Ionic-Blaster . <<

Backblast takes the hit to the side... and because he's a light scout, he's slammed to one side, hard. All six wheels scrabble for purchase on the hard road as he rolls back upright, his turret turning to track his assailant. Well, it flushed him out one way or another...

Backblast 's turret locks onto his target and Backblast frowns. << That wasn't cricket! >> his commander hologram shouts, shaking his fist at Blast Off.

"Thankfully." He mutters. "I don't play cricket. I play dirty."

His turret turns fast as he noses up onto some wreckage to get the necessary elevation. He stops a moment, tracking... tracking...

When the gun goes off, it doesn't launch any of his usual projectiles. Instead it launches a few thousand 2" steel pellets like an oversized punt-gun. He immediately shoots backwards to avoid the inevitable counterattack, almost making it look like the recoil propelled him that way.

>> Backblast strikes Blast Off with 90mm Gun . <<

If Blast Off only knew he'd been accused of fighting in a less-than-gentlemechly manner, the Combaticon would be huffy and defensive. As it is, he may not be huffy, but he is having to be defensive- because of the 2" steel pellets that come ripping through him in a spatter, shredding some of the shuttle's heat shields and scattering ceramic tiles. "Gah!" The sniper hisses... he got his shot, but it also showed his enemy his location. Time to move again. He immediately zips down some, using his rocket feet to keep himself propelled in the air, and finds another spire to hide behind, looking for his target again through the high magnification scope on his rifle.

Backblast doesn't follow the golden rule of sniping. He doesn't relocate after taking a shot... all he does is squeal off around the block, hiding in the alleys. He assumes a hull-down position, gambling on Blast Off expecting him to relocate after firing.

It worked for that German git in that Stalingrad movie the junkions showed him, right? He hopes it messes with Blast off as much as it did Vasily. That big loud rocket burn lets the Autobot sociopath get a rough direction for him... so when the light catches his rifle - unavoidable, sadly, because even if the rifle is dirty, there's always the lens that every sniper keeps meticulously clean, shielded behind dust caps. Even in is altmode, Backblast still has those polished optics.

Polished optics that are currently zooming right in on the Decepticon sniper. "I see yooouuuu."

>> Backblast strikes Blast Off with 90mm Hi-Ex . <<

Indeed, Blast Off wastes some precious seconds looking for Backblast's new location. He frowns under his faceplate, optic ridges furrowing. He HAD to go somewhere! Well, turns out, he was right there all along... as the sniper realizes a bit too late as the shot rings out. "Arrgh!"

This one hurts more, shredding one of his shoulders, knocking him back some with a grunt of pain. His opposite hand comes to clutch at the wounded shoulder as he winces, mouth a grimace under the faceplate. "Frrrag..." he mutters to himself, slipping away again and seeking better cover, then seeking a better shot if he can just find this guy again.

Backblast grins as he gets his shot... looks like Blast Off hasn't seen him so he remains still. The only motion is the slow traverse of his turret as it follows the other Sniper's relocation. He's good, Backblast will have to give him that, moving from building to building... shit. Lost him.

The shell hatch at the back of his chassis opens. He deploys... it's basically a standard cable connector head with a set of big, thick tyres (relatively speaking). They roll off into a broken sewer pipe, seeking out a bare section of cable to jack into.

Blast Off has GOT to find this foe again and give him a bit of air conditioning before people start to TALK or something. The Combaticon sniper's losing his touch, or something. Can't have that! Gritting his dentae, the sniper flies to a new location, still trying to use cover to mask his progress as he does. It's so NICE to just be able to fly through the rubble. He's above it all, as usual.

Funny how the music has stopped, he thinks to himself, just as he spots some movement below. AHA! Instantly, the Combaticon has his weapon up and aimed, setting the crosshairs on his target as he slowly pulls the trigger, letting himself some calm before the storm and just *focus* on what's in the target's bullseye. Nothing else matters right now, just making his shot.... then attempting to gain cover again.

>> Blast Off strikes Backblast with Ionic-Blaster . <<

Backblast snarls as the round slams into his turret. Hokay that one hurt. Maybe relocating isn't such a bad idea now.

He reverses away and back into the alleyways, attempting to hide. He's got a pretty nasty chunk taken out of the armour just above his main gun - right next to his precious optic.

Blast Off isn't letting his target get away so easily, oh no no no. The Combaticon sniper narrows his optics even after the shot, lifting up immediately, and back, seeking cover- and hoping to gain a higher yet view of the area. The goal- keep track of the Autobot. He's successful, too, spotting the movement as Backblast retreats. He loses sight momentarily, but calculates a likely emergence point and lifts his weapon up to wait.

His patience and guesstimate is rewarded as Backblast veers into view. Heh. Blast Off smiles to himself as he pulls the trigger again.

>> Blast Off strikes Backblast with Ballistic . <<

Backblast is, in fact, airborne when the hit takes him. Blast Off would have fired before Backblast came into view, and... his math is impeccable. The round takes him moments after he crests a ruined intersection. The scout car slams into a ruined building and transforms, once again dropping out of sight. "Bastard."

With the classic transformation cog noise, Backblast unfolds into a robot.

Backblast ducks into a building and starts to climb it. About 2/3 of the way up he stops, nestling his rifle in the crook of a ruined window. He starts to look around, scanning for his target...

The Combaticon sniper is feeling pretty good right about now, smiling to himself as his shot is executed just the way he wanted- now if only he could execute the Autobot, as well. But his target has disappeared. Hmm. He flies up the building he *thinks* his enemy may have slipped into, glancing into one window, trying to spot him moving... then the other, then... FRAG.

Backblast and Blast Off are suddenly almost face to face. The Combaticon startles as he sees the Autobot's weapon pointed out- and right at him. Instinctively, he swings his lower half around to give a solid *kick* right at Backblast's gun barrel- through the window itself if need be- and hopefully knock it right back into the Autobot's face, or at least knock it away from his hands.

>> Blast Off strikes Backblast with Kick. <<

Backblast blinks a moment "Huh? Motherfrack-!" Backblast's finger is actually in the process of squeezing the trigger when the kick makes contact with the end of the barrel. The gun slams back squarely into his face in a manner he's just not expecting, the scope actually smashing against his face. His finger catches up to the trigger, but by then the rifle is aimed clear into space.

In several seconds, someone outside the city is going to have a really bad day as a foot-long tungsten dart reaches the inevitable end of its trajectory. His right hand works the bolt while his left hand reaches for a shell - any shell - ready to put it in as soon as the bolt is open.

MOTHERFRACK- is right! Blast Off doesn't like up close and personal, and he immediately fires up his thruster feet to catch some air and gain some distance from the other mech. However, he keeps his wits about him even so, and swings his weapon down to fire at the Autobot even as he tries to make a getaway before Backblast can fire back.

>> Blast Off misses Backblast with Ionic-Blaster . <<

Backblast seems, thankfully for Blast Off, to have the same idea. He fires his shell without really aiming, immediately transforming and reversing out of the building through the wall... even as Blast Off's shots start to rain down around him. He falls with the expected grace and control of a badly-thrown housebrick, tumbling on all three for several seconds before three parachutes deploy from just behind his hatch. Retro-rockets fire, Russian-style, to slow him yet further to gently drop onto his wheels. as the cable is cut a few inches off the ground. The rockets carry the parachute pack erratically clear, possibly (hopefully) masking his movement so he can get a shot in.%R

Blast Off is good, Backblast will give him that. But that only makes this sort of thing more fun.

Well, THOSE shots went wild, but so did his foe's. Happens when two snipers suddenly scramble for some space. Blast Off shoots up the building, then has an idea come to him. Frag all this pussy-footing around. That Autobot wants to hide in the building, he can be BURIED in it. Mwahahahah! The shuttleformer continues flying upwards, only to suddenly transform into a shuttle. The much larger spaceship rockets into the sky, then turns and comes swooping down again, sending a barrage of firepower railing into the building. RATTA TATTA TATA! He'll rattle his foe- and maybe collapse the Autobot's hiding spot right on TOP of him!

Blast Off falls vertically, his arms folding over his head. His legs join together, his wings come forward and Blast Off becomes a shuttle.

His enemy may have exited the building, but Blast Off hasn't noticed. Now to see if a Backblast can get clear of a collapsing building, should Blast Off's shots be true.....

>> Blast Off strikes Backblast with X-Ray-Laser . <<

Backblast is in the middle of de-assing the area when he realises that he's not leaving the building's shadow. And the ground's shaking... well shit.

He turns sharply at the earliest opportunity... and that decision saves him. The building slams down right on his tailpipe, pelting him with chunks of debris that bowl him off his wheels like a cow meeting a train.

If Blast Off comes to inspect the wreckage, he'll find where the Autobot sniper has dug himself out of the wreckage - leaving a wheel and a few other chunks of himself behind. He's not there, however; instead, there's a small tin. It's open, to show it's not a trap, and inside is a small selection of select native plants and herbs, along with suggestions on how to brew them into an energon tea. A note attached to the inside of the lid reads

"Well played. We'll have a rematch

Backblast

55.5 Suicide Jockey FM Arsehole DJ"

Blast Off sees no sign of the Autobot, though he circles for a while. The Combaticon eventually flies down, spots something in the rubble, and once he's sure no one is in the area, he transforms and lands to inspect it. He doesn't find the corpse of his foe. He finds.... tea? The shuttleformer frowns under his faceplate, staring at this odd "gift". He sniffs at the tea ingredients- it actually appears to be good. A bit puzzled, he looks around, lifting an optic ridge. Well, that does explain why the music stopped. Hmm. A rematch it will be, then. Sometime. ...Maybe after some tea. He slips the box into his subspace and flies away.

The shuttle uprights as the wings and stabilizer fin fall away and the engine cylinders fall forward. The top half of the shuttle breaks apart to reveal Blast Off.