Raid on Ghawar Field

Log Title: Raid on Ghawar Field Characters:
 * Cuffs
 * Optimus Prime
 * Sky Lynx
 * Vortex
 * Swindle
 * Onslaught
 * Brawl

Location: Ghawar Field - Saudi Arabia

Date: March 28, 2015

Summary: The Combaticons attack the Ghawar oil field.

As logged by Brawl - Saturday, March 28, 2015, 6:16 PM

Ghawar Field - Saudi Arabia

 * Ghawar is an oil field located in Al-Ahsa Governorate, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. Measuring 280 by 30 km (174 by 19 mi), it is by far the largest conventional oil field in the world, and accounts for more than half of the cumulative oil production of Saudi Arabia. Ghawar is entirely owned and operated by Saudi Aramco, the state run Saudi oil company. Relatively little technical information is publicly available, because the company and Saudi government closely guard field performance data and per-field production details. Available information is predominantly historical (pre-nationalization), from incidental technical publications, or anecdotal.

A couple of days after the battle at Blackrock industries, the decepticon force known as the Combaticons is seen flying towards the Ghawar field in Saudi Arabia, led, of course, by Onslaught.

"All right, you have your assignments. Vortex and Blast Off will prioritize getting energon cubes and getting them filled. Blast Off will be the courier of course. Vortex you're to put the cubes into Blast Off. Swindle, you're to help Vortex and keep an eye out for anyone incoming. Brawl, you're to help Swindle putting cubes into Blast Off and fight whoever comes our way. LEt's go!"

Once that command is given, Onslaught starts down towards the oil field and lands rather heavily. "LISTEN UP, MEATBAGS! GET OUT OF OUR WAY AND NO ONE GETS HURT!" His rifle remains pointed at the crowd to make them get away from the oil fields. "Of course, if you WANT to get hurt.....I don't care."

Brawl lands nearby, electron gun in hand, and quietly repeats to himself, "Help with cubes; fight if needed. Help with cubes; fight if needed. Help with cubes; fight if needed."

"Got it, boss," Swindle says, and immediately goes to assist Vortex while keeping a sharp lookout.

Brawl is terrible at actually filling cubes, but once they're filled he's OK at loading them into Blast Off. Meanwhile, the locals flee, but call for help...

Vortex does have some cargo space in copter mode, which he opens to drop a pile of cubes next to the oil pumps before transforming and landing. "Good thing Swindle found their shipping reciepts on that tanker, heh." He pulls out one of his rotor-blades and uses it to slice apart one of the pumps feeds and then shoves the open into down to fill cubes. "This isn't nearly as fun on a machine that isn't squirming in agony," he grumbles as he works.

Brawl looks over at Vortex. "That's OK!" he yells. "I'm sure stupid Autobots will arrive soon and you'll have your chance."

As if on cue, an Autobot Space Shuttle is detected rapidly heading for Ghawar Field.

Brawl is on the ground, ready to help Vortex load energon cubes into Blast Off.

Vortex just passes the cubes off to Brawl and Swindle after he fills them. Put that burly robo strength of yours to good use Brawl!... And make sure Swindle doesn't skim any for himself.

Inside Sky Lynx, "Take us in, Sky Lynx." Prime says. "We're shutting this filling station down."

"Yes, sir," Sky Lynx responds to his primary passenger, and then swoops down on the Combaticons, transmitting, "Surrender, Decepticons, for your better has arrived, and you no longer have any hope of succeeding! It's best that you simply give up now and save yourself from the embarrassment of being completely bested and humiliated once again by the bravest and most modest of the Autobots, namely me, Lt. Commander Sky Lynx, pride of the Autobot Military Academy!"

[Combaticon] Cmdr Onslaught says, "great....it's the motormouth."

[Combaticon] Stealth Brawl says, "Sky Lynx?"

Brawl stops while holding an energon cube, staring dumbly up at the incoming white shuttle.

Sky Lynx dives low, and opens his cargo bay doors in case his passenger wants to make a dramatic entrance. ;)

Looking up into the sky, Onslaught manages to spot Sky Lynx, just in time. "Vortex! Transform and load the rest onto Blast Off! Brawl! Knock that bird out of the sky! Swindle! Double time it! When Blast Off's full, cover his retreat! And if you skim any, Swindle....you'll be getting that much LESS energon!"

Brawl nods. "You got it, boss!" He drops the energon cube he's holding, and transforms, aiming his main cannon at Sky Lynx as the Autobot shuttle dives in to attack.

Vortex just rolls his eyes as Sky Lynx yells from above. "Oh great, the second biggest ego on the planet is hogging the airspace already." Load those cubes, quick as can be!

Sky Lynx sees Brawl take aim, and deploys a pair of un-Space-Shuttle-like laser cannons, firing down at the tank.

>> Sky Lynx misses Brawl with Laser . <<

[Combaticon] Cmdr Onslaught says, "As soon as Blast Off's loaded, he's to take off and deposit them at the rendezvous point, then return here."

[Combaticon] Swindle says, "gotcha"

Brawl aims his main cannon at Sky Lynx, and fires off a thermal shell.

>> Brawl strikes Sky Lynx with Thermal-Shells . <<

Sky Lynx has interrupted a Combaticon energon-siphoning mission, and has just brought in Autobots for battle.

Brawl is in tank mode, and has just peppered Sky Lynx with thermal shells.

Swindle notes the arrival of Sky Lynx. "Oh come on," he complains, "Can't we have just ONE raid where nobody shows up and we get away with all the energon?" He stuffs a bunch of energon cubes into subspace and then prepares for battle!

Optimus Prime does indeed take his dramatic entrance. As Sky Lynx rocks from the strike of Brawl's thermal shell, he takes cannon in hand and dives out of the cargo bay door, lining up to take a shot at that nice, large, and rather explosive stack of energon cubes next to the Combaticons. "You guys are slippery as it is, you don't need more oil!" he shouts as he sends an energy blast towards the cubes.

Cuffs steps up behind Prime... but unlike the fearless leader, hesitates at the edge. He and shuttles NEVER got along, even if this one was slightly more reliable than the Ark when it came to it. He leaned out, holding on tightly to the edge a moment. He sighed, counted to ten mentally as his riot-shield slid down over his face, and his other shield primed. He then counted to another Ten, and leapt out with a shout of his own...

Tumbling, and then landing with a roll across the desert floor, his black armor now dark grey from the sands of the Sahara as he came to his feet, taking but a moment to prepare before running after Prime, towards the Decepticons. He holds his fire, for now.

The few remaining energon cubes explode. The rest are safely aboard Blast Off and they don't explode. "BLast Off! GO! You know where to put them!" He then levels his Rifle at the a nearby oil field, blasting it and letting the fire fly into the sky, only to rain upon the defenseless human. "Let's see you counter THAT, autobot. COmbaticons! Covering fire for Blast Off! GO!" he says firing a stun blast at Sky Lynx, the only one fast enough to possibly catch Blast Off.

>> Onslaught strikes Sky Lynx with Sonic-Stun . << >> Sky Lynx temporarily loses motor functions from the attack! <<

Sky Lynx disgorges the Autobots, and then swoops around to target the Decepticons again. "Do not think you can possibly ---" *CANNON* He's struck by Onslaught's stun gun, and suddenly tilts, losing altitude rapidly before slamming down into the oil field, causing more explosions and fires as he tears across the earth. Obviously he won't be doing any pursuing any time soon. (No attack, obviously)

[Combaticon] Cmdr Onslaught says, "BRAWL! LET'IM HAVE IT!"

"Slag!" Vortex dives to the side as Optimus unloads on the remaining cubes, sending a nice big plume of purple into the air. He rolls up onto one knee, having drawn his weapon in the process. "We'll just have to redecorate this desert with your lubricants, Prime." He fires off several quick blasts at the Autobot Commander, trying to distract him from getting a bead on Blast Off's departure.

>> Vortex strikes Optimus Prime with Laser . <<

[Combaticon] Stealth Brawl says, "What? Who?"

[Combaticon] Cmdr Onslaught says, "Sky Lynx!"

[Combaticon] Vortex says, "The shuttle that just took a nosedive into the sand dunes, of course."

Brawl rotates his barrel between Cuffs, Optimus, and the downed Sky Lynx, waiting for order clarification. Once he finally gets it, he turns his barrel all the way around, and fires to obliterate Mr. Personality.

>> Brawl strikes Sky Lynx with Ballistic . <<

Swindle takes aim at one of the Autobots that has emerged from Sky Lynx before the dino-bird took a nosedive, which Swindle notes with relief. As long as Sky Lynx is out of it, the better their chances are. Pew pew pew

>> Swindle strikes Cuffs with Holdout Laser. <<

Cuffs continues to run forwards, letting Prime do the talking. But as he was targetted, the mech abandons any attempt to stay in formation - staying alive was much, much more important after all. A flash catches his optics and he crouches, moving his riot shield about - but not quite fast enough, and a mark appears over one shoulder, the metal ripped away as he grunted in pain. HIs optics narrow as he spots the jeepbot, but does not transform yet, instead lifting his rifle to fire back now. "Back down NOW." he barked.

>> Cuffs misses Swindle with Pistol . <<

Optimus Prime brings his attention on Onslaught, getting himself between the helpless Sky Lynx and the Combaticons. "The best thing you can do is clear this field. If there are any humans injured, I'll take each out of your hides." he says, drawing a bead on the Combaticon leader and letting loose a blast from his rifle.

>> Optimus Prime strikes Onslaught with Rapid-Fire . <<

"I'd like to see you try it, Auto-GRK!" Onslaught is able to get out before his motors lock up and he falls over.

Sky Lynx lays in a field of fire a moment, getting holes blasted in him by Brawl. Finally, however, he transforms, rising out of the flames like a giant white phoenix. "That, you will soon discover, was a mistake. When you take on one as magnificent as I, you should expect a terrible vengeance in return."

A strange transformation sequence initiates, and in a moment the form of Sky Lynx in his Dino-Bird mode is apparent, having been merged from his lesser parts. Sky Lynx flaps its mighty wings, opens its large maw, and lets loose a massive torrent of fire down upon Brawl.

>> Sky Lynx strikes Brawl with Fire . <<

Vortex hisses behind his faceplate as Onslaught is blasted off his feet and left vulnerable... Well okay, he doesn't really care about that so much in itself, but team dynamics are team dynamics. Grunting he hops up and transforms, taking to the air and orienting his path towards Optimus. Sand starts whipping up beneath him, churning into a spiral of wind and grit as he closes in on the Autobot. "Come on, Prime, let's you and me go for a little SPIN!" Vortex lowers to become a deadly looking helicopter.

>> Vortex strikes Optimus Prime with Cyclone . <<

Brawl is bathed in fire, but with his thick armor and thicker head it doesn't seem to phase him all that much. He simply raises his turret and fires again, switching to a sonic blast since that seemed to work pretty well when Ons tried it.

>> Brawl strikes Sky Lynx with Sonic Cannon . <<

"Make me," Swindle retorts to Cuffs, easily dodging the shot by the Autobot. He raises his arm-cannon and fires. "How about YOU back down, instead?"

>> Swindle strikes Cuffs with Laser-Pistol . <<

The second shot hurt more than the first, but Cuffs grunted and scowled "How about ... no." he returns, and this time opens up all the power in his rifle. The rifle hummed, brightened in coloration before a powerful blue laser emerged, breaching the distance between them in less than a split second. And the autobot was already running forwards after this shot, trying to close the distance.

>> Cuffs strikes Swindle with Heavy-Laser . <<

[Combaticon] Vortex says, "Get on your feet Onslaught, I won't be able to hold Optimus in my wind force for long."

Optimus Prime plants his feet, and manages to keep himself upright when Vortex' wind strikes against him. His attention is now drawn to Vortex. "It figures that a Decepticon would just throw around a lot of hot air. It's about all you ever do!" he says as his rifle is brought to bear and the trigger pulled.

>> Optimus Prime strikes Vortex with Beam-Laser . <<

[Combaticon] Cmdr Onslaught says, "Combaticons.....get ready to withdraw. We have what we came for."

[Combaticon] Swindle says, "alright"

because Blast Off has that oh so handy GTFO ability, he's made it safely out of the area.

Onslaught, still crackling to electricity, begins to stand up. "Combaticons......Commence withdrawal." He says beginning to rise up into the air. "We don't need to Knock Prime or his fellow autobots down to defeat them. We have what we came for." However, still in the air, Onslaught aims his rifle at Prime.......

>> Onslaught critically strikes Optimus Prime with Sonic-Cannon ! <<

[Combaticon] Vortex says, "Brawl, Swindle, you heard the boss. I'll give you cover fire."

[Combaticon] Swindle says, "I'm going, I' going"

Sky Lynx is blasted with sonic energy, and shakes his large bird head, trying to recover. Optics narrowing, he opens his maw again, and tries once more to fry the Combaticon tank.

>> Sky Lynx strikes Brawl with Firebreath. <<

Vortex uses his maneuverability to tilt his body away from Prime's line of fire, but not fast enough to avoid being pegged along the bottom. The windstorm breaks apart as he's knocked off course, teetering and tottering a bit before finally transforming to restabilize himself. "Get moving Brawl!" He revs up one of his arm weapons and opens fire across Sky Lynx's flank to try and drive the larger Autobot away from making a TOASTY out of the tank-con. Hello air support!" The helicopter rises to become Vortex.

>> Vortex misses Sky Lynx with Ballistic . <<

Brawl grumbles. "Alright, alright." He transforms, and simply walks through the blast of fire like it was a warm breeze. Once out of immediate biting range of Sky Lynx, he takes into the air, pistol handy, but ready to retreat.

>> Brawl retreats from the area, leaving itself open to Sky Lynx, Vortex, Onslaught, and Cuffs. <<

Swindle gets hit by Cuff's shot and grumbles a bit, and retreats as ordered. "Catch you next time," he says, as he transforms to Jeep mode and flees! Swindle's body begins to Alter its size and shape as it lowers to the ground to become a military jeep.

>> Swindle retreats from the area, leaving himself open to Vortex, and Sky Lynx. <<

Cuffs slows down his charge as Swindle starts to retreat. He scowls a little and glares after the transformer, then puffs and turns towards the refinery, optics already scanning for any humans who may be there...

Optimus Prime is struck by Onslaught's Sonic Cannon, and his hands go to his audio receptors as his frame is shaken by the blast of the sonics. However, this is one tough 'bot, and once the sonics are gone, he recovers in short order, shakes his head to clear it, and brings his attention back to Onslaught. "Perhaps, but not as much as I figure you wanted. You can explain that to Megatron, and here's a message you can carry back to him." he says, sending a blast towards the Combaticon leader.

>> Optimus Prime strikes Onslaught with Laser Cannon. <<

Onslaught grunts and is blown backwards, further into the sky. "I did what I wanted prime. I wasn't looking to offline you....just to buy the COmbaticons time to retreat." He then does JUST that.......retreats that is.

>> Onslaught retreats from the area, leaving himself open to Optimus Prime, Sky Lynx, Brawl, Swindle, Vortex, and Cuffs. <<

[Combaticon] Cmdr Onslaught says, "Lets go Vortex"

[Combaticon] Vortex says, "Right behind you chief"

Sky Lynx bathes Brawl in flames, and then taunts, "What? Leaving so soon? I was just getting started?" He narrows his optics, and sends a dual beam of energy at the retreating Combaticon.

>> Sky Lynx misses Brawl with Heavy Laser . <<

Sky Lynx swishes his tail to dodge Vortex's shot, and therefore misses his own. ;)

Vortex transforms back into copter mode and beats heat after the rest of his team. Still smoking a bit from where Prime wailed him as it trails off into the skies. Vortex lowers to become a deadly looking helicopter.

>> Vortex retreats from the area, leaving himself open to Sky Lynx. <<

Brawl blasts some suppressing fire behind him, but continues flying off before he can get blasted again.