Log edited with Logedit 2.6.9pl on Wed Jun 24 11:36:30 EDT 1998 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- South Atlantic Ocean Spindrift whitens the crest of breaking waves in the gale-driven South Atlantic. The prevailing winds that constantly lash the waters near Antartica drive a sea current that eternally circles the bottom of the world. Those same winds lash you with an icy cold that's straight from Antartica as at the same time you feel the dangerously strong pull of the current... Aquatic Tank skips through the tops of the waves as he heads toward Broadside. The dexterous vessel appears to be returning from another reconnaissance run. Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] says, "So you have the cutting torch ready?" the massive carrier transmits as he has now secured a location directly over Galilleo." Aquatic Tank 's turbines emit a whine as it rapidly comes to a stop. Rocking gently in its own wake, it transmits on speakers, "Yo, Aquabots! How's everything comin' along?" Schooner is anchored a companionable distance from Broadside, her sails reefed. "I just need to modify the beam on my laser slightly." She bobs a little in the wavelets created by Orca's arrival. "Hello Orca. I was just getting ready for another dive to the site." Aquatic Tank transmits: "Sounds like some fun! I haven't had a chance to check out the site first hand since we have been able to locate it. Too much playin' around, I guess. You know how it goes..." With sounds of shifting hydraulics, the black and white hydrotank seems to split in half, its bow moving apart and forming into arms. The large propulsion turbines at its rear fold along to the very top of the vehicle. Legs unfold from below as the black helm of Orca rises up from the middle of the vessel. Orca leans back, floating on his back. Looking all too relaxed, the black and white Autobot begins to whistle a familiar tune as he crosses his hands to rest calmly on his chest. Schooner pulls up her anchor and transforms as well. The deck of the schooner folds into itself, the structure buckling slightly off centre towards the bow. Masts retract, gleaming solar sails collapse into a cloaklike fall of silver triangles as a head and torso rises from between the folded sections of hull. A 20ft tall silver and blue femme stands before you. Air Raid soars down into view from the skies above. Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] rumbleschuckles slightly, "Do you want a list, Orca? I'm sure we can find an extensive one." Tradewind hovers in midwater, as a small laser pistol appears from subspace into her hand. Peering at the weapon intently, she begins adjusting the settings. A sound attracts her attention and she looks up at the sky. "Err, we have an airborne... someone out there." Orca shakes his head as he replies cooly, "Nah, it's quite alright." He then lifts his hand to slide his diving visor over his face, conceling his expression as the surface of the visor reflects back toward Broadside. The light from Tradewind's optics narrow. "Er, we did..." Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside]'s massive 20 mm cannons start surveying the sky. "Contact not found." Tradewind returns her attention to her pistol, her tone one of complete confidence. "Well, if you can't find it, Broadside, then it isn't there." Orca lifts his head as he turns his body upright. Scanning the skies, he says, "I only caught a glimpse of whatever it was... it seemed pretty high up and was moving at a modest velocity." Air Raid soars down into view from the skies above. Air Raid , "Where is broadside?" From Air Raid, Golden Cassette tests OOC'ly. You guys see this? > Golden Cassette can't come in under his own power...so he must be riding. > Air Raid drops Steeljaw. Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] says, "All right you two. Watch it down there, some of the currents are tricky, and you need to watch it around the wreckage." his alarm goes off with a shrill bweep bweep bweep as his 20 mm's go to autoscan. "Contact. One inbound, identifying."" > Golden Cassette detaches as Air Raid lands...clattering onto the deck before transforming back. Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] says, "Identified as Air Raid... and Steeljaw. Welcome abaord." Air Raid , "Thank you" > Steeljaw pauses...shivering for a moment before finally looking Broadside's control tower. "What have you found so far?" Tradewind finishes tweaking her laser, and peers up at the massive carrier. "Steeljaw? But I thought he hated water?" Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] says, "So do I, but I'm still here." > Steeljaw glances at where Tradewind is...stifling a slight shiver. "Please do not remind me...." Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] replies matter of factly. "So far nothing, Steeljaw. Orca and Tradewind were about to go take a look." > Air Raid get an innocent look on his face and says, "I sortta lost track of you on my radar....." > Steeljaw pauses as his original Request seems to have been ignored. "What have you found so far?" he repeats. Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] tries again. "So far nothing, Steeljaw." Tradewind zips towards Orca on the impetus of her propulsion jets. "We'll need to cut a hole near the shuttle bay to get inside - none of the other breaches were big enough to admit me completely." Steeljaw walks in...sniffing the ground occasionally. Steeljaw, unable to stay afloat, sinks down out of sight. Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] says, "Oh sure, now the cutting is your idea." Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] chuckles. Orca nods his head toward Tradewind. The muffles sound from behind his visor conveys the restaint of a comment left unmentioned. Tradewind glances backs at Broadside. "I said nothing of the kind. The cutting was Broadside's idea, I was distracted by the exploration of the wreck at the time..", she tells Orca in an amused voice. Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] chuckles, "I was kidding, Tradewind. Sheesh, femmes. No sense of humor." Orca laughs to himself. "You two are as bad as Rodimus Prime and Arcee..." he chides. SPLASH! Tradewind looks around. "What was that?" Kitty Hawk Class Carrier [Broadside] says, "Hey, uhm, Steeljaw may want to watch - ACK! Man overboard!" Tradewind erks. "Steeljaw? Uh oh... I'm on it." With that she pops below the surface. Tradewind dives down Under the Atlantic. Orca exclaims, "Oh no!" He rolls forward as he dives beneath the ocean waves. You dive down Under the Atlantic... Under the Atlantic The cold waters of the South Atlantic surround you. A little light is able to get through enabling you to see very little around you. A sudden noise alerts you to the presence of a human nuclear submarine on patrol. It closes in on you pinging only to turn away realizing you aren't an enemy submarine. Contents: Tradewind Steeljaw Space Station Galileo Steeljaw sits on the bottom...well...not just sitting. More curled up into a ball. He's so frightened that it's all he can do just to blink. His entire body is literally vibrating from his fear. Tradewind sinks slowly into view, her descent slowed with the aid of her propulsion thrusters. The light in her helmet switches on as she scans the bottom. A trail of bubbles follwing behind his spinning turbines, Orca dives from the surface above. On his left shoulder, a small searchlight rises and ignites the water in front of him with a bright beam. Tradewind activates her radio. "Steeljaw? Can you reply? We need to get a fix on your position.." Orca follows behind Tradewind, then transmits to her, "I'm diving behind ya, Tradewind. Did you happen to catch which way he was headed on the way down?" Steeljaw shivers still....not moving. Even if his radio was working..he's too frightened to use it. His one greatest fear is now his nightmare.......water..everywhere. Crushing in on him...seeping into his open and vulnerable joints..his circuits and internals already beginning to go haywire. Tradewind transmits. "I don't know, the current isn't as bad as yesterday, but it would still cause some drift, even something as dense as him... look for something shiny..." Orca nods his head toward Tradewind, the light on his shoulder casting a bouncing reflecting from his visor. Spreading his arms to slow his descent, Orca points his searchlight down. He slowly turns his torso from side to side, surveying for the slightest glimpse of metal. Steeljaw's hide manages to catch the reflection of one of the lights. The ensuing golden flash is like a beacon. Tradewind scans along the bottom on a different heading from Orca, sweeping with the light of her helmet. "He didn't even respond to my transmission... wait... did you see that? There's a glint up ahead." A low whine can be heard through the dephs as Orca's turbines increase speed to propel him closer to Tradewind. "Where?" he inquisitively transmits. Steeljaw stares at the lights flashing his way....not even reacting to it...as if he didn't see them. Tradewind points straight ahead, her own jet thrusters sending her ahead with a zip. "Just beside that ridge," she transmits. Orca nods his head toward Tradewind. The tiny trail of bubbles behin him float upward as schools of fish swim by, apparently indifferent to the hulking Transformers swimming through their domain. You transmit a message to Broadside: I think we have located him... we're going in for a closer look. Steeljaw was never what you could call....boyant. Steeljaw just sits there. As a certain golden colored lion being confronted with his phobia on a massive scale can only do. Orca points his right hand toward a glimmer of gold. "I think that's him down there," he trasmits toward Tradewind. "Let me try to give us a little more light." Holding his hand above his head, Orca ejects a flare from his right hand. The spinning rod tumbles through the water for several moments before it starts its descent. With an audible FIZZZ and whoosh of bubbles, a pink glow illuminates the area as the flare activates. Tradewind scoots further ahead, nearly overshooting the ridge, backpedalling as she sees the small gold lion, curled into a decidedly fetal ball. "Here," she transmits. "Let's get him topside..." Steeljaw's hide shimmer rather stunningly in the abundance of light now...as for him, he's still frozen with absolute fear. Orca reaches behind himself and detatches his hoverboard. Holding it toward Tradewind, he transmits, "Want to maybe place him on this? It may place less stress on his frame during the return to the surface." Tradewind nods. "Whatever, let's just get him out of here fast. He doesn't look good - help me move him." Orca floats down to the ground near Steeljaw. Small plumes of sand cloud the water around his feet as he touches down. Kneeling on his right knee, Orca moves to sscoop the hoverboard under Steeljaw's trembling body. Tradewind bends as well, trying to help without churning to much silt. Steeljaw's only form of assistance...is not putting up any resistance. It's almost comparable to lifting a rock. Orca nudges the last of the golden lion's paws safely onto the board. "If you can grab that other end," he transmits toward Tradewind, "We can go ahead and head back to the surface." Tradewind takes the other end, careful not to jostle the petrified golden form. "Got it." Orca nods toward Tradewind. Squatting and pushing off from the ocean floor with his legs, the Aquabot starts his maneuvering turbines again and heads back toward the surface. He moves slowly, careful to make sure Steeljaw's body is safely in position on the board. Tradewind activates her jets in time with Orca's, matching her rate of ascent to his own. Steeljaw walks in...sniffing the ground occasionally. Taken. Tradewind heads up through the waters towards the surface of the South Atlantic Ocean. You begin the ascent through the waters towards the South Atlantic Ocean... South Atlantic Ocean Spindrift whitens the crest of breaking waves in the gale-driven South Atlantic. The prevailing winds that constantly lash the waters near Antartica drive a sea current that eternally circles the bottom of the world. Those same winds lash you with an icy cold that's straight from Antartica as at the same time you feel the dangerously strong pull of the current... Tradewind and Orca arrive at the surface, carrying a petrified Steeljaw on what appears to be Orca's hoverboard. Orca bursts through the surface of the water alongside Tradeinwd. The two Aquabots are holding the white hoverboard of Orca, upon which sits the inert body of Steeljaw. Steeljaw shivers...as only a petrified lion can do. Mobile Defense Platform is floating in the water near Broadside at the moment, unaware of the drama unfolding nearby. Tradewind looks worriedly at Steeljaw's inert form. "He's going to start rusting soon - Maverick said it was a weakness of his. We need to get him back to the city." Orca lifts the visor on his face and calls outt toward Broadside with a look of urgency, "Hey, we need a medic for the drowned cat!" Orca frownas slightly and says to Tradewind, "It lloks like we'll have to take him back ourselves." Orca paddles himself a few meters away from the hoverboard, giving himself ample room to transform. Diving forward, Orca thrusts his arms over his head. They combine as his legs fold under him. His head descends into his body as his tubrines move backward into position for directing aquatic movement. Aquatic Tank pops its canopy covering and transmits to Tradewind, "If you can go ahead and place the hoverboard in me, I can head back to Autobot City." Air Raid soars down into view from the skies above. Mobile Defense Platform hovers around... Mobile Defense Platform hrms noting Air Raid coming a bit close. Mobile Defense Platform drops Air Raid. Air Raid slaps Tradewind, somehow Air Raid , "are we ready?" Triage, unable to stay afloat, sinks down out of sight. Tradewind dives down Under the Atlantic. Tradewind suddenly emerges from the waters below. Air Raid , "I think we should drop all in broadside" Aquatic Tank shuts his canopy as the hoverboard with Steeljaw is placed within it. "Let's head to shore!" he exclaims over his speakers. A white plume of water shoots out behind the hydrotank as it speeds off to the east. Mobile Defense Platform hrms, having absolutely NO idea what is going on. Tradewind nods to Orca. "You go on ahead. We still have to complete the mission." Aquatic Tank transmits: "I'll get him to medical attention, but I'll return when I can!" Splashing through the Atlantic afternoon waves, Orca heads toward the American coast. You head out towards the vast expanse of the Central Atlantic Ocean... Central Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic here is warmer than it is to the north. Clouds drift by lazily above as the weather here is usually nice and balmy. Cruise ships occasionally pass by, heading towards the Caribbean or towards Europe. Yet as you draw closer to the North American continent, a colder current suddenly dominates, the darker blue of the Gulf Stream moving swiftly through the water. You move north to the North Atlantic Ocean... North Atlantic Ocean Wide expanses of water surround you. You know that land is not that far off to the west, but it is still beyond the horizon. The water is cold and the weather is usually overcast or stormy. Occasionally a freighter or trawler passes by, its crew busy at work. Aquatic Tank turns, the hydrotank heads towards the capital of the United States, hoping some Autobot personnel will be available there to provide assistance. You head out towards the Outskirts of Washington, D.C.. Outskirts of Washington, D.C. The beautifully lush and verdant forests of Virginia beat a path to the capital of the United States, Washington DC. The dwellings resemble plantations and castles more than houses. The highways are incredibly smooth, perfect for the high-stress government employee to push the speedometer to the limit. Over the Potomac River appears the various landmarks which signal the beginning of the District of Columbia. Air Raid soars down into view from the skies above. Aquatic Tank pops the top of his canopy as he nears the shore. He ejects the hoverboard in half-transformation and holds it in his arm as the change completes. With sounds of shifting hydraulics, the black and white hydrotank seems to split in half, its bow moving apart and forming into arms. The large propulsion turbines at its rear fold along to the very top of the vehicle. Legs unfold from below as the black helm of Orca rises up from the middle of the vessel. Air Raid soars upward into the sky. Air Raid soars down into view from the skies above. Air Raid , "this isn't an air room right?" Air Raid , "hi orca" Steeljaw walks in...sniffing the ground occasionally. Air Raid drops Triage. Orca carefully sets the hoverboard on the ground, his optics fixated upon Steeljaw. Triage walks over to Steeljaw after exiting air Raid Steeljaw sits still frozen in place on the hoverboard...still shivering.. Orca kneels beside Steeljaw. Looking toward Triage, Orca seems a little confused. "Uhm... are you a medic?" he asks, not recognizing the other Autobot. Triage nods, "Yup, and a good one too would you believe." Air Raid , "Alls good here" Triage says, "Might I ask your name? Since yer just about to be recruited as nurse." Triage half-grins kneeling down to Steeljaw. Orca smiles toward Triage. "That's good to know... name's Orca, by the way," he says quickly. Puddles of water are forming around him as water from the ocean runs down his smoothly-styled frame and onto the ground. "Will you be able to find the facilities you need to help him here? This was the closest metropolitan area that I thought would have enough to help him." Orca's blue optics flash toward the medic. "A nurse? I'm a warrior, not a medic!" he says. "I'll do what I can," he say hesitantly, "but I don't want to, you know, break anything." Triage says, "Don't worry, mostly you'll just find yourself holding things I suspect, what happened to him?" Orca replies, "He fell off Broadside and took a big drink." Steeljaw sits about as rigid as.......a rock. Still curled up into a fetal-like position..his body wracking with shivers from fear. Triage raises an eyebrow, "Well...that shouldn't be too hard to fix Orca's hands are shaking. The Aquabot stands up and says, "You should let Air Raid lend a hand." The Aquabot steps backware and watches with concern, obviously hoping Steeljaw can be helped. ---------------------LOG ENDS - STATISTICS----------------