Orcunis Recovery Site

Laurentian Abyss, North Atlantic

'Luck; that's all it amounts to, pure, dumb luck. But I'll take it.'

After dropping Novacula, Parasite, Nightjack and Saint Vitus off at the surface, the rest of the Decepticons had returned to Orcunis. Northclaw quickly ordered scans of the hulk be taken, checking the structural integrity and determining how much of the old Decepticon's interior had flooded. No one held much hope; after his crash and subsequent time on the ocean floor, Orcunis could be expected to be in pretty bad shape. It was a surprise then to discover that only fifteen percent of his hull had flooded and the interior was in excellent condition, all things considered. The findings meant that they could work to salvage him from inside his superstructure – provided there was a working airlock near an unflooded corridor.

Orcunis did possess a pair of massive shuttlebays, but one was open to the sea while the other was sealed shut and there was no way of determining if the hanger doors could be opened without flooding the interior. The scans had pinpointed several airlocks along the exterior and their locations had been logged so they could investigate them later. With the initial survey complete, the recovery team returned to the airlocks, checking to see which ones were operational and unobstructed. The first such portal they found was assigned to the Constructicons' shuttle; Northclaw wanted to get the salvage operation underway as soon as possible and having the engineering team board first would hopefully expedite things.

Northclaw, Dynabreaker and Sustain were in Orcunis' auxiliary control room, with Sustain under a console fiddling with the wiring. The main bridge was flooded and thus inaccessible, but fortunately the auxiliary had been clear and accessible and it was here the team had regrouped before receiving their final instructions. Scrapper and Scavendrill had gone down to engineering to see what they could do about restoring engine power. Hook was sent to check on the condition of Orcunis's laser core, which housed his spark. Scavenger and Mixmaster were scouring the corridors, reinforcing any damaged bulkheads they came across, while Long Haul and Bonecrusher were surveying the rest of the interior. Sustain was working to restore command operations to the control room while Datamatrix had been left on the Dragoon shuttle. Datamatrix had protested, naturally, but he lacked the engineering skills that were needed for this mission and someone needed to man the comlinks in case the surface patrols reported in. The only other choice had been Dynabreaker, and Northclaw was familiar was familiar enough with her temperament not to risk her damaging his equipment.

Northclaw moved over to a flickering console and absently watched the static-filled screen. If Datamatrix lacked any appreciable engineering abilities, Northclaw and Dynabreaker had little to no such skills whatsoever. He knew enough to make minor repairs to himself, but that was about it. But he had never been one to lurk about in the rear, no matter the situation, and always had to know what was going on first hand. He was smart enough to stay out of the way and let the experts do their work. If it had been anyone else – Dynamax or Archanubis, for example – they would have been hounding the others constantly, getting in the way. Northclaw felt that a hands-off approach worked, with periodic checks to keep himself in the loop.

He glanced over at Dynabreaker, who was standing stiffly behind him. He'd been mildly surprised that she hadn't protested when he ordered her to stay close to him. It wasn't totally unexpected, though; during her time with the Dragoons, when they weren't on separate missions, she'd follow him around like some lost Terrorcon. He'd never really understood the reasons behind it, though he'd heard the rumors. It didn't matter at the moment; for the time being, she was where he could keep an optic on her.

The screen he was staring at suddenly went dark and then flickered on again, displaying a blank, blue field. The main lights came on soon after and Northclaw watched the consoles and screens around him come alive soon after while his optics adjusted to the brightness.

"That should do it," Sustain said, pulling herself out from under the console she'd been working on. "It's not perfect, but you should at least be able to use the intercom to communicate to the other departments."

"Only one way to find out," Northclaw said. He carefully pressed a button on the panel in front of him. "Command to all stations, this is a test of the onboard communication channels. If you read this, please respond."

"Engineering here," Scrapper's voice answered. "We hear you loud and clear."

"Datamatrix here, bored out of my skull."

"Damage control here," Mixmaster's voice reported. "Everything's going well down here."

"Survey team reporting in," Long Haul groused over a static-filled channel. "You're coming in a little hazy down here."

"I'll check into that," Sustain said. Northclaw only nodded and waited for the final check in.

"Hook here, at the laser core. Everything looks ship shape here. You want me to fire this big guy up?"

"Negative," Northclaw replied. "We have no idea how he'll react to having unfamiliar Decepticons crawling around inside his superstructure. Keep him in stasis for the time being; we'll wait to wake him up once he's been moved to a secure facility. Our priority for the moment is to get him out of his watery grave. For the time being, head to engineering and see what you can do to assist Scrapper and Scavendrill."

"Will do; Hook out."

Shutting off the intercom, Northclaw turned to Sustain, saying, "We'll worry about that faulty channel later; if we have too, we'll use our own communicators. Right now, I need you to get navigation operational. If Engineering gets those engines working, we're going to need to know where we're going."

"What about the tactical systems?" Sustain inquired. "The Autobots are going to have a hard time missing this thing, provided we can get it out of the silt at all."

Northclaw had already considered that. "Hopefully the Autobots won't have time to react if we can get this thing moving. Once navigation is up and running, then you can worry about the weapons array."

"Understood," Sustain said and strode over to the navigation controls.

Dynabreaker watched the small triple changer for a moment then turned her attention to Northclaw. "Do you think the Autobots already know about this?"

"If they knew about Orcunis, I doubt he'd still be here," Northclaw replied. "However, Vector Maximus and Blazer Prime have had their scanners locked onto your base the nanoklik it came online. You couldn't have an oil change in that place without those two knowing about it."

Dynabreaker nodded slightly. "I would gather using the sub your team stole from them wasn't a good idea, either."

Northclaw shrugged. "You got to use whatever's at hand sometimes. But unless the scanners are run by complete idiots, it's doubtful the Autobots would have missed a pilfered submersible leaving a Decepticon outpost."

Sustain listened to the conversation from where she was working and decided Northclaw was correct. The Autobots had to know something was going on and it would surprise her if they didn't send a team to investigate. She was beginning to get the idea where Northclaw got his reputation and why there were those who feared him.

The intercom crackled to life. "Datamatrix to Command Team, come in."

"This is Command Team, Northclaw responding. What is it?"

"There's a call coming in from Mad Nova, says it's important."

"Patch it down here," Northclaw responded. He waited a moment before saying, "This is Bottom Feeder, what's the beef?"

"Bottom Feeder, this is Coastal Puffin," Novacula responded, his voice crackling over the speaker. "The reception's bad on this end, you're breaking up, gonna have to make this short."

Sustain shook her head, smiling slightly. She had heard of the Dragoons' reputation for coming up with some creative and unusual call signs. Then again, what Autobot would guess a Decepticon would call himself "Bottom Feeder" or "Puffin?"

"Understood," Northclaw responded. "What's going on up there?"

"I got some steel fish making a beeline for your position, right down Abyss Route One. Five contacts with a possible sixth."

"Abyss Route One?" Dynabreaker inquired.

"The Laurentian Channel," Northclaw replied. 'Which means they either came from Nova Scotia or Newfoundland,' he thought. He knew Vector Maximus's personality well enough to predict how he'd react; it was Blazer Prime who was the unknown factor. "Puffin, you got a fix on their point of origin?"
"Sorry boss by the time I detected them, they were already in the middle of Route One. I estimate they'll be over your position in a little over ten cycles."

"Slag," Northclaw swore. "We're going to have to work fast on this one. Puffin, keep on their trail; I'll have Eagle and Frigate take over your sector and have them tighten the patrol zone with Gull. If there's one team out there, others may also be on their way. I'll see about getting you some undersea support as well."

"I suspect that's not an issue; I suspect he's already lurking nearby. Coastal Puffin out."

'Wouldn't be surprised,' Northclaw thought grimly. 'It'd be just like him to trail an incoming enemy and not report in, just for giggles.'

Sustain was watching him carefully. In her mind, he'd come to his decision far too quickly to be a "spur of the moment" order. She suspected he'd already thought this might happen and already had a contingency plan worked out. She said nothing, though, as she watched him silently switched channels.

"Northclaw to Sea Wolf, come in."

"Hey, Northy, what happenin'?" replied a voice that was thickly laced with an accent similar to what humans called "Cajun."

"Sea Wolf, we have some Autobots coming down 'Abyss Route One' and will be here in ten cycles or less, most likely to see what we're up to. Could you occupy their attentions with something a little more… pressing?"

"Ah, some craw-fish want to play in the ally-gator's turf, eh? Don't worry yourself none there; I'll give them a little education. How much time do ya need?"

Northclaw turned on an internal channel. "Engineering, how long before you can attempt to free this beast of a Decepticon?"

"At least a megacycle," Scavendrill answered. "Less if Hook gets his slow as used oil skid plate down here!"

"Don't get your tailpipe in a knot!" Hook called out over the speakers. "I'm on my way now!"

"You have five cycles, Hook," Northclaw said and cut the channel before Hook could respond. "Long Haul, Bonecrusher, I'm placing your survey assignment on hold; I need your skills for other tasks. Bonecrusher, rendezvous with Mixmaster and Scavenger and assist with their efforts. Long Haul, head for Engineering and give them a hand down there." He didn't wait for confirmation. Making sure that both channels to Sea Wolf and Engineering were still open, he said, "Sea Wolf, see if you can't keep them busy for the next forty-five cycles. Jam their communications; I don't want them calling in reinforcements. Novacula's in pursuit if you require assistance."

A tiny laugh burst of laughter burst over the speakers "I can hold them Autobots off for three times that long, without assistance. Sea Wolf out."

Sustain shook her head slightly. "Arrogant little bugger, isn't he?" she said. "And how in the name of Primus did he get that silly accent?"
Northclaw shrugged. "He had it when we caught him. He can be a real pain in the skid plate, but he's good at his job."

Dynabreaker stepped forward slightly. "I should probably go up and assist him," she said. "He may need some extra firepower."

"Negative," Northclaw said. "We can't risk losing a submersible to enemy fire; we'll need both if we have to abandon this site. Besides, Sea Wolf can handle it; he's designed for combat in this environment. You aren't."

"But the charged particle cannon…" Dynabreaker protested.

"… Is useless under water," Northclaw finished. "With respect, Princess, you'd be nothing more than a big, fat target out there."

Sustain turned away quickly, covering her mouth with a hand, stifling an amused laugh. Dynabreaker caught it and shot an annoyed glare at her.

"We're better off concentrating our efforts on raising Orcunis from the ocean floor," Northclaw continued, ignoring both of them. "We'll just have to pray that Sea Wolf's as good as he claims and that Novacula can back him up if he isn't."