Terragator, Injector and Drow reached the hillcrest overlooking the sea and stopped, dropping the heavy loads they were carrying.

“Huff... joints... creaking... weight... crushing... circuits...” Terragator whined.

“Quit your gab, ‘Gator. We gots us a job to do, or Bludgeon won’t be all too pleased with us. Look, the sea’s right there. All ‘round this hill is scrub forest, looks like it’s dark and nasty. Might be somethin’ in there, maybe we’ll get in a scrap t’get rid of our boredom... but we gotta install this jammin’ station, and stat!”

Wearily, the three gathered up their heavy machinery and trudged through the dark forest. Daggerfang briskly strolled behind them, being as he was mission commander. He checked his scanner, then continued after the three Preds. Terragator and Injector, purely military warriors, had been easy enough to convince. They carried his load between them.

“Ha, the fools...”

----------------

When Daggerfang arrived at the area of the beach where a steep cliff towered above, he found the motley crew awkwardly assembling the jamming tower.

“Quickly now, over there, we can’t be spotted by the Maximals while constructing this, slag it, don’t stop to listen to me, pay attention to both things!!!”

Injector finished his assigned job, to assemble the energy conductor and ensurely it was safely in place, and went began to climb up the cliff using his rakelike claws.

“What’re you doing, Injector? Get back t’work!!!”

“Bah, I’ve done me work, I’m gonna stop now. Bludgeon gave me instructions to that, so’s I did, and that’s the end ‘o it.”

“Bah, I’m telling you to get back to work!!!”

“Stow yer shoutin’, the Maxies’ll hear us. I’ve complete me job, so I’m not under your command any more. Like before, Bludgeon and Thunderwing command me. Y’want the work to go faster? Then you lift a digit. I’m done.”

Daggerfang grumbled and went to assembling a girder. Bludgeon favored Injector for some reason or other, and did not want to incur the wrath of the seasoned leader.

Injector had been in a self-induced shutdown cycle when a jostle brought him back into activity.

“Whatchoo doin’, mate?”

Terragator flashed his steel fangs and hopped up onto the massive boulder Injector had been “sleeping” on.

“Man, we’s done. Coulda gone faster with your help, but oh well. Daggerfang is completing setup, Drow is doing a perimeter scout. Enjoy yer nap?”

“Cybertronians don’t nap. I was just reserving some Energon.”

“We got plenny, too much actually.”

“Yeah, but not much of it stable enough to use.”

“Ya got a point there, ‘Tor.”

“Indeed I do.”

Drow melted out from the shadow of the thick jungle trees behind the boulder.

“Anything to report, Drow?” Injector inquisited.

“Naah, thought I could see footprints, but jus’ ignored it. They didn’t look fresh at all. Probably just a Maxie scout from a few days ago, if they weren’t prints from a lizard.”

“Ah, nuttin’ much. Well den, where’s Daggerfang?”

“Right here.” Daggerfang had climbed up the cliff face while the three Predacon warriors had been conversing.

“Oh. Got the jammin’ station up?”

“Not much thanks to you. Yeah, it’s up, no Maximals’ll be able to send any warning messages in this area. We can build anything here. Jus’ what Bludgeon plans to do with the land remains to be seen, however...”

“Oh, well. Any idea when we leave?” Terragator asked, feeling an uneasy chill race down his spinal plate for a split second.

“When we get relieved by someone. Should soon enough, I guess.”

“Some leader.”

“Injector!!!”

“Hehe...”

“Hey, ya stinkin’ Preds, cummere!”

“Who?” Daggerfang asked, turning around abruptly.

Terragator sprinted to the cliff edge, looking out at the seashore. “Aww, it’s just Aquarius actin’ weird again... that guys’ kinda fun to kick back some lighter fluid with, but a creepy guy, that’s for sure...”

Terragator felt the binary coding chips in his neck activate and instincitvely ducked. Daggerfang and Injector sailed through the air overhead, landing at the edge of the sandy shore. Daggerfang landed at an odd angle and crushed his lower leg.

“SLAAAAAAAGGGG IT ALLLLLL!!!!” Daggerfang went into a screaming rage, hopping madly about as his leg slowly chipped away. Soon broken wires and shattered chips stuck from the stump at his left knee joint, and the four warriors surrounded him, Drow attempting to patch up the leg so it could be healed easily.

“Yess.... I feel his pain...” Aquarius was slowly becoming inebriated by the electric waves of pain emanating from the fallen Fuzor.

“By Unicron’s teeth, what the slag did you come here for, you psychotic, blabbering idiot!?!?!” Daggerfang shouted between winces as pain registered to his circuits in waves.

“Oh, I came to relieve you, send Drow and Daggerfang back, stay another decicycle with Terragator and Injector, and then we’d leave...”

“Bah, I will not recieve help from Drow in returning to the Tor base... I wil make my own way back. I hope you all suffer the same pains as I do... especially you Injector, you.. you ‘slacker." With that Daggerfang jammed a stick the size of his lower leg into the wound, which was greeted by more shouts of anguish and screams as more pain registered. He then grabbed a largr stick and began to trudge up the shore to the South, in the general direction of the Tor island. Wordlessly, the cruel Drow transformed into beast mode and sped past the grmupy Daggerfang.

----------------

“Any ideas on how to waste a decicycle, ‘bots?” Injector asked.

“I want to feed... off of his pain...” Aquarius mumbled.

“’Ey, I got a good holo before we left, never had a chance to see it... a little bit of Predporno from Praun. The pleasure bots there.. hoooo-leee...” Terragator said.

“You guys do what you want, I gotta leak some excess Energon...”

“Sure, whatever...” Aquarius waved goodbye absentmindedly as the holo projected a blurry image onto the cliff wall.

Injector was having a tough time making his way through the dense undergrowth. The Sun had been setting as he entered the forest, and he had not yet found the route back whence he came.

“Oh, well,” he thought, “I might as well just stop here and leak, then I can head back once I don’t have this preoccupying my thoughts...”

Injector stopped at a large fern and began to leak. After he was done, he heard a noise behind him.

“Terragator?” Injector asked.

“You wish.” With those cryptic words a blade was thrust through Injector’s chest, coming out right where Injector could see it impaling his Spark. He coughed up Energon and spasmed a bit as his Spark began to extinguish. Processed liquid Energon leaked from the hole in his body. Slowly, the knife slid out, allowing Injector to fall forward on the fern.

-----------

A decicycle later, Aquarius and Terragator were preparing to leave.

“Hrm.... Aquarius, d’you suppose we’re forgetting something?”

Before Aquarius could reply a figure appeared from the shaodws.

“Oh, Injector. Hehe, you ready t’head back to the Tor?”

Injector smiled, baring his massive teeth.

“Ready as I’ll ever be.”

END