Part 2- Meeting the Players
The warriors were dropped off outside the outer perimeter of the remains of Altihex, relying on their wheels to get to the rough co-ordinates provided by Ultra Magnus in his initial transmission. Once there, they transformed; weapons out and sensors on high alert.
"So, how do we find this base?" Sunstreaker asked, icy blue optics searching the ruined city warily. Jazz scanned the surrounding area, smiling slightly as he picked up a familiar energy signature.
"We don't find 'em Sunny." Jazz replied. "They find us." Ignoring the twin's curious glances, Jazz walked over to a dark alleyway and deliberately turned his back on it.
"Whatever y' do, don't shoot." He cautioned. No sooner had he spoken when he was suddenly grabbed from behind, a grey hand seizing Jazz's chin and yanking his head back while a second held a knife to his throat. The twins snapped their guns up instantly, optics searching for a target in the gloom.
"Tacky Jazz, very, very tacky." A female voice chided. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't kill you." She demanded.
"'Cuz I'm such a nice guy?" Jazz offered with a grin, totally unconcerned at his situation.
"You never change, do you Jazz?" The still concealed femme laughed. "But I must admit your line delivery's gotten better." She released him and stepped into view. "It's good to see you Jazz." She said, holding out her hand in the standard greeting, which the black and white returned.
"Same here." Jazz grinned. He turned to the twins. "Sides, Sunny, meet Shadow. Shadow, these are the warriors Sideswipe and Sunstreaker."
"A pleasure." The grey and black femme said warmly.
The twins lowered their weapons, but still eyed Shadow warily.
"So what's goin' down at HQ? How's the team an' all that?" Jazz asked.
"The guys are all fine, but Nightwatch and Scope are in for repairs. They lost an argument with an RPG." Shadow paused for a moment. "I'm guessing you need to go to HQ. I'd take you, but I'm on patrol. Talon will show you the way."
"Who?"
Shadow grinned and held out her arm. There was a shrill whistle and a dark shape plummeted from the skies to perch on Shadow's wrist.
"A turbo-hawk? I didn't know they were still around." Sideswipe said in wonder as he stared at the mechanical avian.
"He's not. Talon's my partner. While in the field he watches my back, and I watch his." Shadow explained. The 'hawk jumped off her arm and transformed in a Seeker style sequence into a small robot about knee high to regular sized mechs, trilling a greeting as he landed.
"I'll leave you to it." Shadow said. "See you back at base." She waved and stepped back into the gloom. There was a shift of gears, the sound of footfalls, and she was gone. Jazz turned to the patiently waiting Talon. "Well, lead the way." He said with a grin. Talon nodded and beckoned for them to follow.
"Hey Jazz, what was the whole business with the knife?" Sideswipe asked as the trio followed the tiny Autobot.
"Eh, just a little runnin' joke." Jazz shrugged. "Started with m' first class back near th' start o' th' war."
"Your 'first class'?" Sunstreaker asked, both optic ridges raised in surprise.
"Yeah, command figured that it'd be good f' me t' train a few 'bots in basic Black Ops. One o' my lessons was t' teach 'em how t' sneak up on people. We practiced on each other." Jazz explained. "I've held a gun t' Shadow's head almost as many times as she's had a knife t' my throat." The twins exchanged a look but kept silent as they followed Talon through the ruins.
The bird bot led them through the remains of the industrial sector and down a hatch concealed under a half-toppled wall. After several minutes navigating a web of tunnels so convoluted that even Jazz became disorientated, they finally came to a blank wall. The visored mech tapped a certain spot on the wall to reveal a control pad. After entering a code, an irregular doorway opened up in the tunnel wall behind the group.
A sky blue jet-mech stuck his head out and sized up the group. "Well, what are you waiting for? A welcome mat? Get your afts in here!" He barked. Talon offered the trio a helpless shrug and gestured for them to go inside.
Once in the base, they were greeted by a dusty green mech with the stocky build of a truck type alt mode. "Hey, I'm Skywatch. Welcome to the base." He grinned, holding one hand out in the standard arm clasp greeting, which Jazz returned. "Name's Jazz. These two are Sunstreaker and Sideswipe." Jazz replied. "Who was Grumpy back there?"
"Oh, him." Skywatch made a face. "That was Updraft. He gets like that whenever he's kept inside for too long; you get used to it. C'mon, Ultra Magnus is waiting for you."