Defending Territory

Log Title: Defending Territory Characters: Banshee, Bludgeon, Delusion, Discretion Location: Eastern Industrial Plains Date: August 10, 2018 TP: Dominicon TP Summary: Decepticons continue to try to plunder Valvolux. The Dominicons on hand move to defend. As logged by  Delusion Log session starting at 19:17:11 on Friday, 10 August 2018.

It's all been set up with typical German efficiency. In the small hours of the night, a group of Hanomag half-tracks rolled up to a bluff near Valvolux, their engines heavily muffled as they take position behind the rock formation, hidden from direct observation by the city. They transform and begin their work in near-silence, their workspace illuminated by the dimmest red lights they can find and still see with.

By morning, the top of the bluff has sprouted a small lump; a camouflaged Decepticon artillery piece that looks suspiciously like a German 8.8 cm Flak 37. And there's no more hiding the operation, because the sound of drilling is not one that can be hidden all that well. Behind the bluff, a derrick has formed, the Luftwaffecon gumbies working as fast as they can; in the time it takes to muster a response, the laser-drill has already struck energon, and they are cubing it up and stacking it for storage as fast as they can.

The noise attracts attention quickly enough. A sleek black jet gleams as it crests over Valvolux's still very battered walls and circles at a distance to ascertain the source.

The Decepticon Slant Drilling Company is, at least, very well hidden. While it can be heard, it's hard to see without rounding the bluff.

What isn't hard to find, however, is the yellow-accented form of Banshee. She's not super-close to the drilling operation, but she's close enough to keep an eye on things.

An orange and green tank rolls up on top of one of the bluffs, close to the mining operation. It transforms into the terrifying form of Bludgeon. He stands there with his arms crossed as he surveys Valvolux in the distance. "Knightmare......" He growls to himself, "Come to me...and we will finish what we have started." He looks down to his blade, a scowl on his face. Fingers tighten into a fist. His red optics flare brightly as he adds, "I will surpass you..."

Banshee gives out an order on the radio, causing him to stop his monologue. His gaze returns back towards the city in the distance, and then transforms back into his tank mode, rolling down the hill backwards. Waiting.

Not long after the first jet takes to the sky and begins circling another climbs up past the walls. It soars up past the other and begins to circle as well, scaning the area for transmissions and other features that are out of place.

Banshee spots the two Dominicons rising from the city. Her pilot hologram reaches up and pulls her goggles down over her eyes, then fastens her oxygen mask in place. The gunner in the back does the same, before the Luftwaffecon decides to make sure that she's been seen. She rolls onto one wingtip, making sure to display her yellow markings and Decepticon sigils to them, the metallic purple she's chosen flashing a moment in the morning sun before she pulls around, spraying cannon fire in their general direction just to make triple sure that she's been identified and tagged.

With that done she puts her nose to the deck and pours on the power. Her main advantage here is that her maximum speed isn't far from the stall speed of most jets...

>> Banshee strikes Delusion with BK-27 . <<

Delusion spots the prop plane coming and begins to roll, but doesn't manage to evade the guns coming her way. She zips past Banshee and rolls over in a yo-yo, coming about much faster than any human piloted jet would. Her own guns chatter with the BRRt of a modern machine gun.

>> Delusion strikes Banshee with Rotary Cannon . <<

Bludgeon idles just behind that ridge. From his position, he can see Banshee bank, flashing the Decepticon Empire colors as she does. His sights adjust for the range, and for the arc. Of course at the moment, the Dominicons were engaging Banshee. Soon, she'd lure them to his position. A simple lure, but he'd work with it. Banshee had proven herself over the radio to be of an interesting mindset, one that aligned with his more often than not. For that she deserved for him to follow orders. His sights adjusted just so, Bludgeon waits for the lure to pull in him some victims...

GAME: Discretion PASSES an INTELLIGENCE roll of Average difficulty.

[Dominicon] Discretion says, "Bludgeon is sitting on the other side of the ridge. Keep out of his line of fire as much as possible."

Discretion rolls onto her side, shifting her circling into an upwards spiral; once she's gained enough altitude the jet first goes completely inverted and then into a dive. As she gets the older warbird into her sights she lets loose a barrage of laser fire.

>> Discretion misses Banshee with Laser . <<

[Dominicon] Delusion says, "Copy"

Banshee yelps as the first lot of cannon fire strikes home, punching through her relatively lightly-armoured hull, although it doesn't appear to hit anything vital. She immediately doubles down on evasive maneuvers, causing Discretion's lasers to go wide - just. Her pilot hologram visibly ducks as a laser bolt skims close enough to burn paint from her hull.

Her weaving flightpath slowly turns paralel to Bludgeon's bluff, to present him with targets. The Luftwaffecon keeping her speed up just enough that the jets can stay behind her, should they so choose. To make sure the pair stay interested - she hopes - her tailgun swings around to target Discretion, the gunner hologram hunkering down behind his gun, racking back the handle, and opening fire.

>> Banshee misses Discretion with Tail Gun . <<

Delusion dips low, using the bluff itself to obscure Bludgeon's firing line as she gains speed. She can dogfight with the best of them, but she prefers the intimacy of close range. The Dominicon jet hugs the landscape right up to the last minute, then tips upward in an Immelmann to target the tank.

>> Delusion strikes Bludgeon with Ballistic . <<

Bludgeon humphs softly as Delusion dips down out of his view. Range obstruction was expected, in fact half of Banshee's tactic relied on it...which means he wasn't surprised when Delusion rode the landscape in order to come up on him. Fine, that was in her corner. Now the battle was joined. Rounds bounce off of Bludgeon's armor as the tank rolls backwards, the turret angling towards Delusion, <> Electricity crackles from within Bludgeon's barrel as he gauges the Dominicon, <> Electricity forms a tight beam towards Delusion, and then fires out after her.

>> Bludgeon strikes Delusion with Laser . <<

Discretion pushes her throttle full forward as the hail of bullets comes towards her, letting them pas through empty air. Those foward control surfaces allowing her to pull back to level in a relatively short amount of distance which is followed by a bank that leads into a Chandelle towards the Stuka as a charge forms on the wings of the experimental fighter. The charge doen't have time to build much before it's released just as the high tech fighter is about to streak past the prop plane.

>> Discretion misses Banshee with Electrical Shock . <<

Banshee chuckles <> she transmits. <> she grins, attempting to follow the agile fighter. See, a jet with canards... that just makes it so much more interesting. It makes it a lot more fair, at least in her eyes. She banks away, expecting a shockwave or melee attack - certainly not electricity. She manages to get enough distance that she's not the closest charge to equalize, the arcs of raw power lashing close to her, but not close enough.

She deploys her dive brakes, pulling up hard in an attempt to get her gunsight to bear on Discretion. Shell casings spit from slots in her wings as she opens fire, attempting to stitch the Dominicon with her own modernized cannons.

>> Banshee misses Discretion with BK-27 . <<

Energy crackles across Delusion's frame as she reaches the top of her arc and she transforms, pulling her scourge from her side. "I will be glad to accept your invitation," she purrs, her optics alight from within. She angles her descent, aiming for the tank as she snaps the whip in a distracting arc. The real attack, however, comes from the weight she throws behind her heel.

The cone of the F-15E splits and comes down onto arms as legs stretch from underneath and the wings fold up. Delusion stretches briefly.

>> Delusion strikes Bludgeon with Leap-Kick. <<

Bludgeon cackles as Delusion comes in on him, He starts to transform back to his root mode, even as the big kick catches him in what will rapidly become his shin guard. Then...the demon-faced samurai's eyes flicker as he raises his hands. "It is very good to see that you still possess the thrill of battle...even as you turn your back on the Empire." He pauses, "I can respect that, and surely I would have been dismay if Knightmare had less courageous troops under her command." He raises his foot, attempting to plant it right in Delusion's head. "So...try to survive me, Dominicon! Try...or DIE!"

>> Bludgeon strikes Delusion with Kick. <<

Again the X-29 zips out of the incoming fire, this time with a maneuver she is guessing the older fighter can't match easily. Pouring on more speed once again she goes into a combination barrel roll and snap roll, letting the bullets overshoot her position. Instead of retaliating against Banshee she angles towards her sister and Bludgeon, letting the charge build up until it's crackling dangerously along the leading edge of those wings. The fingers of electricity are released with a -CRACK- as they reach out towards the Decepticon facing her sister.

>> Discretion strikes Bludgeon with Electricity-Surge . <<

>> Bludgeon temporarily loses motor functions from the attack! <<

[Dominicon] Discretion says, "Hit him hard."

[Dominicon] Delusion says, "*cough* Thy will be done, sister."

Banshee growls to herself as the other Dominicon pulls away. She banks around but low to the ground like she is, she's not going to be able to get a shot off at this range without risking rounds hitting Bludgeon.

Even in combat, few Decepticons forgive striking a superior officer. She pours on the power, attempting to get back in range. <>

Delusion lifts her left arm to block, a sound instinct but not enough to stop the full strength of Bludgeon's kick. It leaves a sharp crack in her armor that oozes energon, but the Delusion is experienced and rolls with the blow, her optics even brighter. Discretion's intervention gives her a moment's breathing room and she takes advantage, lighting up her whip with painful energy as she murmurs under her breath. The scorching whip's multiple thongs swing like a living extension of the Dominicon's arm, snapping across Bludgeon with intent to cause as much pain as possible.

>> Delusion strikes Bludgeon with Sizzling Whip. <<

Bludgeon is right in the middle of menacing Delusion, and he's probably doing a pretty good job of it, at least after landing that kick. His head turns as he hears another engine roar, and raises his hand to cover his faceplate from Discretion's fire. Electricity washs over him, and for a moments his joints freeze up. Delusion takes advantage, with her electric whip attack, and lashes it about Bludgeon. Agony fills him silently, even as his joints pop and crackle, but soon the samurai busts free of the attack. "Foolish!" He places a hand on his sword's hilt, "I too, am an electric warrior...I strike with the same tools!"

Slowly, he draws his mononuclear katana and assumes a practiced position. "Your leader once said this weapon was disappointing....let us see what you think of it." Bludgeon steps forwards, with a horizontal slash to Delusion, a testing strike, as he holds back most of his strength...in case /she/ shows.

>> Bludgeon strikes Delusion with Roundhouse. <<

The white and red jet kills its engines letting its forward momentum bleed off before it transforms into it's robot form. The femme drops to the ground in a three point stance and launches towards the larger mech, arms coming up as if to punch, and for a moment it looks like she will. Instead she vaults into the air at the last possible second, launching a flurry of kicks instead.

The Grumman X-29 flips forward, unfolding into a slender white-armored Seeker femme, her wings folding down behind her.

>> Discretion strikes Bludgeon with Speed-Kick. <<

Banshee drops down out of the air as she gets close. She transforms before she lands, pulsing her prop before she touches down with her boot-jets. At the same time, she draws per pistols from their holsters, taking a moment to make sure that she's got a relatively clear backstop before letting fly with both of the German sidearms.

With the classic sound of a transformation cog, Banshee's wings crank up in the middle and rotate onto her back as she rises, her engine cowling parting as her face folds out of the sump. She stands smoothly, looking around.

>> Banshee attacks Delusion, and Discretion with Dual Lugers, striking Discretion. <<

The blade carves into Delusion's side and energon flows. She is definitely looking worse for wear, and yet the gleam in her optics does not fade. Instead, her smile widens. "It has bite," she says, and she fades aside as if sensing her sister's approach, falling into a complementary position with the ease of long familiarity. Delusion feints high with the whip, but it does not strike with it, instead lunging forward to use the jagged edge of her battered vambrace.

>> Delusion strikes Bludgeon with Elbow Smash. <<

Bludgeon is assailed by Dominicons in tandem. It is obvious they've trained as such, and as Bludgeon steels himself against the leaping kick flurry, he gets an elbow smash to the chin. After all this, Bludgeon finally takes a step back, and then another. He shakes his head for a moment, his eyes returning to their normal gleam within moments. As he does, Banshee sees her opportunity to light up the pair. Teamwork works on both sides. He twists the blade in his hands as he approaches the two, "Good...but not good enough." Without further words, electricity crackles upon his blade, as he brings it down upon Discretion, a crackling purple arc in his wake.

>> Bludgeon strikes Delusion with Slash. <<

Delusion is overcome by injuries, losing consciousness.

Delusion sees the crackling blade and dives, placing herself in its path in the place of her teammate. It smashes through her shoulder, crackling, and she staggers, dazed and.. almost drunken. "It is.. very sharp.. a lovely bite." She begins to fall.

Discretion steps back from the descending blade only to watch her sister move into place and take the slash that was intended for her. As the light begins to dim in Delsuion's optics Discretion reaches out and grabs the larger femme then takes to the air.

>> Discretion retreats from the area, leaving herself open to Imager, Banshee, Bludgeon, Sit-Com, Scourge, and Delusion. <<

Banshee watches the Dominicons retreat, holstering her pistols. She turns and salutes Bludgeon. "Sank you for letting me take zer lead, Generalmajor."

Banshee moves on foot to where the drilling rig is to supervise and oversee what energon they can get.

Bludgeon lowers his blade, he listens to Banshee as the Dominicons move to retreat. For several moments, he just regards the two. His fingers rolled on the blade. It wasn't what he wanted, to take out Delusion, and yet there was nobility in the Dominicon's action. To save another. Traitors...he could forgive, especially with with what Knightmare had bragged about. It was a thought that was going to stick with him for the next few sweeps. "Hmph, it /was/ your operation, Banshee." He motions to the transports, a raised hand as he proclaims "Take what we can. Destroy the rest. Leave them nothing if we can.......Rust the earth."

Log session ending at 22:28:01 on Friday, 10 August 2018.