Niakin the Hunter aka HWPD

Cybertron, Niconia Transport District 

“We still have plenty of time.”  Lying, Praxis-II spoke quickly over their comms as they drove the transport up the final incline to the launch port.  “The aerial detection network is still down.  We'll make sure your exit's covered…”

“I trust you…”  Montera-4 replied, her voice tight and stressed after a morning of barking orders.  “We are almost ready to leave.”

“Understood.”  He paused to navigate the vehicle around some building debris.  “Be there soon.”

Some griping came through faintly in the background from her.  “N’vek!  Stow it!  I won’t tell you-”  Praxis flipped off his receiver.

Scowling from behind him, Crash Guard braced himself against the interior of the transport from the force of a turning bank in the ramp.  “Prax.  We really should be getting to our ship.”

“We will.”

“Steelback is counting on us, you know.”  Mobius quipped from the farthest back seat of the transport.  

“I said we will!”  Yelling back, Praxis tightened his digits around the controls; they had delayed enough so he could see her off.  He just had to see to it.  For her…  Shaking his head, he glanced around their peripherals  “Scythe, Sun Thief still trailing us?”

“Affirmative.”  Steel Scythe answered from the middle with a peek outside towards their Seeker.

As the transport crested the top of the ramp, they could see the Matriarch’s Light quickly getting ready to leave the planet.  Even as they slowed, the few bots rushing around the belly of the ship gave them no mind as they hastily checked over things.  Coming to a quick stop, the three Specialists slid out of the transport with their weapons drawn and at the ready.

“Crash Guard and Scythe, spread out in a defensive position,”  Praxis ordered.  “Mobius, stay with the transport.” “Staying overhead.”  Sun Thief called out as they feathered their thrusters to maintain their position above.

As they dispersed, Praxis turned to see Montera striding quickly down the Light's ramp to meet him.  Before a word was spoken, she threw her arms around him with such a tight embrace; her Conjunx, her sparkmate.  With the stress of their mission and how this day had already unfolded, he didn't miss the chance to reciprocate her in kind.

“You made it!”  She said after pulling away, her voice heavy. 

“Of course, we promised to ensure your escape.”  He told her, his voice holding the facade of his worry.

She looked down, feigning some of her own hopelessness.  “You should all just come with us.”

“We can't.  We have our craft and orders.”

“We could make it work, Praxion.”  She begged.  “Please.”

Flicking his optics off for a moment, he shook his head.  He wanted nothing more than to do so…  “We have our mission, you know how important it is.” 

She grimaced.  “Its all the same thing.  Our missions are parallel.” 

“Montey…  We can't.  Its-”

“Gegen, there’s no room for it!  Leave it on the damn runway!”  N’vek, their logistic officer, yelled between bots from the ramp, her voice disrupting the tender moment before turning her optics towards the two lovers.  “Ma’am!  We don't have time for this scrap!  We’ve been loaded and cleared!”

Montera grimaced once more.  “There is no time….”

“There never will be.”  Prax said, leaning his helm against the front of hers before giving her the tenderest of kisses.  

“...We’ll make it.”  She whispered as mouths parted.  “Stay true…”  She said, gritting her denta with a solemn nod.

Stoning himself, Praxis stepped back from her finally.  “We will meet you there.  Wherever it may be.  I promise."

“Montera!!”  N’vek screamed from the ramp.  "By Primus, we gotta go!"

The Matriarch frowned as she looked back.  “Stow it!”

Biting back sheer with audacity, N’vek wasn’t one to take unjust flak.  “Stow this ped up your-”

Several quick volleys of weapon fire above cut the air.  “Company!”  Their Seeker yelled as they maneuvered for a better shot at a rapidly approaching Alt. 

“Just one?!”  Crash Guard yelled out as the streamlined shape viciously raced over the crest of the launch station ramp

“Long Hunter!”  Sun Thief yelled back; the word drove the group's cables cold with nerves.

As fast as their sudden appearance, multiple weapons slatted out from several pylons on the Alt as streaks fired off from the front of the approaching Decepticon.  Piercing over the sound of the howling of their engine, a series of flechettes and high velocity bolts zipped through the air.  With such speed, those in the open dipped for cover as the projectiles struck and embedded into transport and bot alike; the Hunter’s aim seemed true enough to get everyone scattered while their erratic movement kept them from the overhead hits.

As Mobius and Crash Guard dove behind their transport, a pair of the solid bolts struck Steel Scythe in the shoulder, sending them staggering onto the ground next to Praxis.  The sound of combat had stirred the other bot’s inside the Matriarch, leading to the rushing of plenty of steps heading for the exit to help.  Leading the charge was Treads, the Autobot’s single Wrecker in their unit, who barreled down the ramp with purpose.  With her weapons drawn, she made a quick pace, even shoving N’vek clean off her legs as she was scrambling to go the other way up the ramp.  Now that the Logistics Officer clattered to the ground out of the way, two of the other Autobots and some of Montera’s personal mercs rushed to assist.  

Montera ducked and scrambled towards her ship, frantically keeping herself down as she could.  With several of her crew on the way, she could order the ship off properly, hopefully wanting to get everyone on board if they managed to fend off this single Decepticon.  The Hunter had other plans as they still raced for their launch lane, charging up their Spiker to fire a single, larger bolt through the air past them.  Shrieking over everyone’s head, the projectile zipped for the unloaded reserve of crated energon the crew were arguing about just moments before:  Their intended and calculated target.

A violent detonation cracked off as the packaged material was pierced, sending several of the bots who had just cleared the ramp off of their peds and shaking even the large ship; several of the Matriarch’s auxiliary rear sensors and turret assemblies crumpled from the shrapnel.  With several bots either dead or swept to the ground, Treads, still ever so determined, pushed back off and rushed towards the fight.  

By now, the Specialist team with Praxis had gotten into cover and had positioned themselves to return fire.  Yanking Crash Guard to his feet, their squad leader looked back to the ship as another volley of bolts rushed around Montera, several of which struck one of her own trying to help her.

With movement that showed faster than their aim, the Con was now close enough to take more direct influence on the fight; they were after the Matriarch, and they were going to go through whoever stood in the way.  

Ripping apart their sleek black shell, the Hunter sprawled themselves at speed to use their momentum to slide across the launch pad surface.  Twisting their back downward, they fired several flechettes up at the Autobot Seeker, sticking them with several of the small but fierce darts.  Dipping on their wings, Sun Thief maneuvered himself away from taking more projectiles.

Now that their air cover was momentarily gone, the Hunter shifted themselves once more as they closed the distance to the Specialist’s transport.  Catching their heel on the surface below, they twisted themselves into a short roll to then shove off from the launch pad, powering their legs into an upward leap.

“Go!”  Praxis yelled back towards Treads and Eet-7, who were now several paces away.  “We’ll hold-”

Arcing themselves over the transport, the Hunter dove down onto Mobius, driving their dual wrist blades into the torso of the smallest of the team.  With their momentum crumpling her, the Con used their speed and clash to twist the both of them in a roll.  Skidding so fast on their peds, they dragged the small specialist around as they slid upright, firing a quick burst of their Spiker at Praxis and Treads.  Several swift bolts struck both of the larger framed bots, three struck the squad leader in the shoulder, while two shunted into Tread’s belly as she drew her rail rifle.  As the others staggered back desperately, the Hunter stopped firing to strong-arm Mobius’ mass around, their blades still stuck in her chassis.

Just in time to throw her barrel towards the target, the bastard placed the smaller framed bot in front of her shot just as she fired.  The rail round blasted off and zipped into Mobius’ back, striking several bits of her and lancing off at a slight angle into the side of the transport that had been used for cover just one moment ago.  With her weapon recharging, she looked up to see the Con sidestep closer to the transport with a now charged Spiker barrel trained around their screaming Autobot shield.  Her optics barely caught the nanosecond of flash of their weapon as they dipped their stride as well, the large bolt zipping past her shoulder and finding its way right into her squadmate Eet-7, who had been rushing to help; the projectile striking her in the center of her battlemask and splitting her helm through.

Now back on his footing, Praxis took what he could to snap his Ion Cannon out from his gauntlet to fire at the Decepticon.  Maybe his aim was a bit off from the bolts in his shoulder, but he fired twice and sent two rounds clear around their side; the Hunter had deliberately pierced their shooting shoulder to make this difficult.  As the Con moved to pull back towards the rear of their transport, Crash Guard finally scrambled over the craft to help, only to get more in the way as Praxis struggled to get a better shot.  

Pressed now, the Hunter moved quicker for their cover as they did their best to counter while keeping Mobius as a shield.  As they slid around the side of the wheeled transport, they fired a few Spiker bolts into Crash Guard’s side before the Specialist leader shot once more.  While their aim was true, the Con once again countered with a hard step, moving Mobius back in the way; the Ion shell slamming into her with hellish effect.  With his screaming shield structurally compromised, they finally withdrew their blades as they slipped around the craft, letting Mobius crumple painfully on the ground.  

Firing her Rail Rifle once more, Treads sent a more charged round through the corner of the craft; the shot bore cleanly through but only zipped just a breath between the Hunter’s neck and helm.  Jerking at the closeness of that air-splitting round, the Con quickly just reloaded a cylinder of bolts into the bottom of their Spiker.

“Push!”  Steel Scythe yelled, charging quickly up the other side of the transport.

“Fraggin’ on it!!”  Angrily, Treads boomed as she moved with them.

With their own melee charged, Steel Scythe swung down to bring his axe pick down into the Decepticon.  After announcing their action, the Hunter moved just in time to counter the larger framed warrior; digging their shoulder down, they pushed hard, low and forward to slam their mass into Scythe’s chassis at his tanks.  The axe fell and struck the back of the transport as Scythe was shoved off, now focused on grappling his slippery opponent.  The Hunter, however, wished not to spend too much time with this bot, quickly shifting their Spiker away and driving their blades into the Autobot’s weapon gauntlet at the center forearm.  Once pricked in, the Con yanked and dropped their weight back, using the angle of the stuck wrist blades to drag the larger bot with them; if they didn’t cooperate with their dance partner’s movement, they’d lose their arm.

Rolling the two of them, the Con brought Steel Scythe over top of their twisting frame, only to withdraw their blades to let him slam helm first into the transport.  Kicking from the crashing Autobot, they snapped their Flechette gun in their digits and let loose an automatic volley of the small, zipping darts into their back.  As Treads powered around the corner, she too would be met with a few of these darts zipping around her.  The Hunter was determined to- 

Sun Thief, tired of the fight, soared down at the Decepticon; their thrusters hot as they slammed their mass into the bastard Hunter to the hard metal launch pad surface.  Now in their grasp, the Autobot Seeker started to power the Con across the ground away from everyone.

“Take that, dirtkisser!”  Treads shouted as they watched the airframe finally doing some work.

Struggling to get Crash Guard off the ground, Praxis hollered out on his comms.  “Anyone not with us, get back on the ship!”

Treads gave a huff.  “Yes sir!”  They answered stoutly despite wanting to see that Decepticon fall.

“Keep her safe, please.”  He added.  “For me.”

“Understood.  Come on, Denati.”  She said, peddling back past the now arriving Medic of her group.

“Get going!”  Her squadmate yelled.  “I’ll catch up.” 

“Denati-”  Prax growled.

“Don’t Denati me!”  She shouted as she slid to her knees next to Mobius.  “Your team needs a medic!”  Defiant as always, she’d rather have to shift squads if it meant keeping the needed fluids inside of another Autobot.

In a hellish slight to finish this Decepticon, Sun Thief continued to grind the Hunter along the ground as he placed several heavy strikes of his fist against the Con's ornate battle mask.  Despite the landing blows, the Hunter only hissed as their form sparked against the moving surface beneath them.  The thief was going to slide this bastard off the flight platform and let them fall a few thousand feet to their death.  They’d see to it.

What they couldn’t see was the devious strike the Hunter was preparing to fend off this airframe.  With a balled servo, they swung a soft fist into Sun Thief's side in between his own hits.  As the Hunter swung, the pair of wrist blades slotted out viciously as the swing drew faster.  Whether the Seeker expected it or not, his enemy plunged their short lengths of piercing daggers into the Autobot's lower torso; the Ascendant’s Bite.  Before Thief could really register the first, the Hunter drew their arm once, temporarily half sheathing the wrist blades only to strike again in the same fashion.  After the second pierce of those blades, they abandoned his plan of attack and let go of the Con to get some space.  They’d have to move back to elevation being their advantage.

As the Seeker pulled away on their wings, the Hunter twisted once again as they drew their Flechette launcher and fired a volley at Sun Thief.  As the rapid little pricks struck their back, Thief spun themselves to face the Con from the sky.  Ignoring any more incoming flechettes, they shifted their Ion Cannon from their weapon gauntlet to finish the enemy off.  Quickly lining up, they charged a shell to fire.  While the darts had paused from an empty magazine, the Hunter was out of bullets, but not out of options.

With a flick of their wrist, the Hunter's embedded flechettes gave a sharp, electronic chirp before violently detonating.  Each of the flechettes hid a potent, disguised shape charge; more bite than silent bark.  A series of small but precise explosions erupted from Sun Thief's body, chunking armor, piston, and cable alike as the Seeker's chassis was blown apart.  As the upper half of their torso split and ruptured, their thrusters struggled to maintain a sense of direction as the now guideless frame gave no proper instruction.  Cold and quick as the rest of their work, the Autobot Seeker fell from the sky as their corpse fell, crashing against the ground to a headless bed of sparks and trembles.

“Primus…”  Denati groaned sorely as they watched the Hunter rolling and sliding behind one of the Launchpad pillars.

Realizing that the Hunter's flechettes were more than just an inconvenience, Crash Guard looked down at the three lodged into his chest plate.  Steel Scythe was having the shared thoughts at that time and slipped a pace away to not risk the same fate.

“Oh frag…”  Scythe stammered, seeing the several dozen in his frame.  

More in panic than shock, Crash Guard quickly gripped one of the flechettes to try to get it out.  “Prax!” 

“Yank and go!  I need your arms, Crash!”  Prax fired back, stepping slightly away just in case as well.

“Careful!”  Denati shouted.

With a jerk, Crash Guard plucked one of them from his chest plate; luckily, with no following detonation.  “Whoa!  Okay!”  He yelled in relief as he tossed the dart away.

“Not this way, you sodding-”  Denati’s voice was drowned out by the snap of the Matriarch’s Light finally spooling up her engines to leave.

Listening to the growing panic in the exchange, the Hunter's antennas shivered as the vibration of the ship engines began to engage; their hum swelling quickly for a speedy ascent.   They were running out of time…  But gritting their fangs, they knew they still had a chance.  Replacing the cylindrical magazine on the top of their flechette launcher, they slipped their clawed servo to put the empty magazine back between their plates and readied a magnetic charge.

Looking back from the two Specialists pulling their quills away, Praxis swelled a breath as the ship came to life; the ramp began to lift as the engines tuned for takeoff.  After being shoved off the ramp by Treads, then staggered by the energon explosion, N’vek was still struggling to claw her digits onto the ship.  Short on time, she rolled her limbs finally onto the lifting ramp, exhausted already from everything.  As the walkway lifted, she glanced her sore optics towards the group on the launch pad; giving a shared gaze with Praxis, she shook her head with a frown before sliding into the safety of the ship.

“Alright!”  The group's new Medic yelled from Mobius’ side.  “The Light’s heading off!  We need to leave!”  

As Montera’s ship began to lurch away, Praxis only then looked back to the remaining group.  “Right.”  He nodded, pulling his thoughts back to their mission finally.  “Is Mobius out?”

“No,”  Denati growled as she lifted the still writhing femme from the floor.  “I can save her.  If we leave NOW!”

“Yes.  Good call!”  Praxis steeled himself.  “You two!  Pile in!”

“A moment!”  Crash Guard hollered back, plucking the rest of the flechettes from his comrade before turning towards the transport.

The whistle of a magnetic charge rang out, a glowing disk curved through the air towards them, the puck shape spinning by the flick of a wrist in a way to make its mark; the Hunter wasn’t done.  While Scythe was still behind the cover of the transport, the thing homed in on its arch and followed Crash Guard’s mass.  With a metallic clang, the disk charge stuck itself to his chest plate just below the Autobot’s chin.

“Crash!”  Prax yelled.

The large framed bot shrieked as he went into a blind well of fear, his servos frantically trying to grip the damned thing.

“No!”  Steel Scythe yelled as he rushed around the transport to help; he wasn't going to let his friend meet the same fate as Sun Thief.

“Get it off!” 

“Move your-”

 “Use a blade, damn it!”  Denati added with a grunt, carrying the scout to the other side of the craft; Mobius had seen enough injuries.

“Screw the blade!”  Crash yelled, getting desperate.

Heeding his brother’s words, Steel Scythe forced his clawed digits into Crash’s chestplate and tore it away with a proper grip.  “You Cogsu-”

In just a blink after removal, the explosive detonated violently in Scythe's grip; the blast consumed both of the Specialists with enough force to lift the transport from the ground.  Staggering from the shockwave, Denati caught a glance of Praxis getting blown off his peds as the shadow of the lifting craft swiped over her.  Yelling in shock, the Medic did her best to shove herself away, leaving only enough time to toss Mobius forward as the transport crashed down onto her.  As the vehicle rolled over to crush Denati’s legs, the scout again met the launch plate in a pained heap; her voice growling out in sobs as she heaved.

It all happened so fast; Praxis scraped along the ground on his chest plates.  In such a short span, he had lost his four squad mates to one Decepticon; the viciousness of the Hunter soured their core.  They had pressed so much to make sure his wife had escaped, and finally, he looked up to see the Matriarch’s Light picking up speed down the launch lane.  They had seen it through at the cost of their own team…

On sore legs, he stood, looking back and taking stock of the two bots alive with him.  He’d just have to get the transport off of his new medic before…  The howling of the Hunter’s Alt engine hit his audials.  

Looking over just in time, he caught a quick sight of the rushing Decepticon leaping into their Alt form to race down the launch lane for Montera's ship.  His core sank; the Hunter would get to the ship if he didn't stop them.  He had to stop them.  Shoving himself off, he painfully spun into his own VTOL alt form and hurried his engines as hard as he could to catch the Con.

With their engine screaming, the Hunter roared off down the runway to catch the ship.  Their engines had just begun to flare up for final acceleration and take off, leaving them precious time to claw their way on.  They had to catch Montera; their entire search to reclaim the All Spark was at stake if her group left the planet themselves…  They had the means to find it just as well as Megatron had.  

With the sense of the undying hunt, they readied themselves to claw their way through the damned hull; their gap quickly closing as they rocketed for the rear of the ship.  The heat of the engines started to disturb the air around the area as the vessel throttled up finally to leave.  As their feverish optics began to haze by the glow of the engine, the Con was surprised by a sudden rush from behind.  Call it desperation or the thrill of the chase, they hadn't noticed the VTOL frame charging after them, and now the whistling of several missiles coming down behind them.

In a flash, Praxis' missiles struck the launch surface almost perfectly on the Hunter’s flank.  The harsh detonation was enough force to sweep the Con off their wheels, sending them through the air towards the drop-off edge of the launch lane.  Unfolding themselves desperately, they scrambled their sharply tipped digits against the metal surface to no avail.  Unable to stop their momentum, a curse left their maw as they flailed over the edge to the city levels far below.  

Now that Montera’s ship was lifting to leave the launch lane, Praxis landed to a quick halt, skidding on his peds to stop at the surface edge.  Glancing down to see the falling shape disappearing into the district’s haze below, he breathed a sting of relief as they watched the large vessel gain enough speed to lift from the surface of the laneway into an upward arc from the city.  Stepping back just a pace, he grimaced as his optics followed along their flight path.  The air detection network should see them as nothing more than a regular freighter; several Meta-cycles of work culminating in this window for them.  In reality, the window was really for the two teams of specialists and their covert departure from the planet.  Given the chance to give to his love on her own mission, he had held back to make sure they were off, though the weight of its cost tugged at his core.  

Glancing back towards their rolled and inflamed transport, a wash of frustration tainted his processor; they couldn’t have predicted that Hunter showing up like they had, and now there was no more time he could delay.  The first team had left already, and now he had to face his own departure.  With a sour frown, Praxis folded himself back into his VTOL form and made a quick pace for the short path away to his own ship. 

The sound of the rushing orbital engines leaving the surface was quickly drowned out by air rushing past the Hunter’s audials as they fell through the city’s haze.  The sting of the moisture in the air on their scorched flank reminded them of just a brief moment of tunnel vision; the ignorance of desperation to catch that ship.  Now there were only a few breaths of time they could fall as they continued to barrel for the streets still far below…  They were not going to die today, not to gravity…

Twisting themselves along the stream of air, the Hunter drew their Spiker and Ion Cannon and trained them away from the building zipping by.  Firing both simultaneously, using the recoil from each to push their momentum backwards towards the only nearby structure of reference.  After several shots, they twisted around once more, driving their dual blades into the racing metal wall before they made impact.  With as good an angle as they could to not break their blades or limbs, the heated edge cut into the building enough to slow their weight as they fell.

Growling out, they yelled as the pistons and cables in their arms ached.  Now that they had their blade etching the side of the structure, they ignored the abrasion as they pressed their other limbs against the wall, digging in whatever points or claw tips they could to spread their friction out.  Straining and positioning themselves as they sparked along, they watched as flakes of their body and blades glowed and wore away as they slowed, closer to the bottom.  

With moments to spare, they dug their searing blades deeper into the building and dragged their pace down as much as they could, just in time to meet a series of maintenance pipes and frames going between the buildings.  Flailing their glowing digits, they snapped their free servo over to grip one of the sections, yanking themselves painfully to an abrupt stop.  Between their blades and their grip, they dangled freely there for several moments, their chassis heaving with heavy breaths and surges as the hot fluid in their lines moved with purpose.  With a bit of a head rush, they looked down to see a courtyard just a few heights below, a much safer and survivable drop in comparison.  

Exhaling behind their mask, they ignored all of the shouting and concerned civilians below before taking a moment to gather their strength.  After several breaths, they drew their blades from the building's wall and hung in exhaustion for a moment to calculate the best way down.  Their tired and still hot glowing digits failed them, trembling from the stress, slipping from the maintenance frame, only to let them fall.  At least they wouldn't reach terminal velocity this time.

Bracing for the best, they flailed a bit before colliding with the barely sloped roof of one of the entrances to the base of the launch tower.  Their frame harshly struck its surface, crashing and sparking off to the street below.  Twisting to catch themselves well enough, the Hunter was able to tuck their legs to roll themselves into a few staggered, sore strides before collapsing beside one of the decorative courtyard pieces.  Crumpling to the ground, they stayed still where they fell, wordlessly embracing the safety of the ground once more.  

“By Primus!  They just fell from the launch pad!”  Someone shouted.

“How did they survive that?!”  Another one said.

Closing their optics for a moment, they grimaced; now they knew their rest would be short-lived with all the bystanders.  Luckily, the friendly sounds of thrusters eased themselves down to the street nearby; immediately from the sound, the Hunter recognized them.

“Back off, everyone.”  Blitzwing projected sternly.  “I have them.” 

A short series of murmuring groans and sighs sounded from around as the crowd dispersed; the Decepticons were not the most popular in all of the still functioning districts of Cybertron.  Paying no mind to that, the Seeker knelt beside the motionless Hunter.

“You know, Reaper…”  They started, a smirk on their mouth.  “There are easier ways to die if you are so determined to do so.”

“Spare me.”  The Hunter replied.

“Like you spare yourself a thruster pack?”  

Groaning audibly, they rolled now onto their back for a moment, exhausted from the fight.  

“Oh, that bad?”  Their friend replied.  “Your digits even got filed down from your fall.” 

“They’ll reforge…”  Reaper blinked.  “...Why did you not stop the ship?”

Passing a bit of an amused look, Blitzwing shook their head.  “What am I going to do?  Chase a Star Runner down myself?”

They couldn’t argue that.

“I saw you fall and adjusted course…”

“Noble…”  They hummed softly, building their strength.

Blitz’ smirk faded, giving them a harder look.  “You’re no good to me cold.” 

Hearing that, Reaper softened a little, finally looking over to them.

“Now, come on.”  The Seeker stood, extending his servo towards them.

Taking grip with their own digits, Reaper eased themself up with some help.  The pistons in their legs were so tender from the fall.  “Might I ask for a lift?”

“Anything for you…  Dramatic Hunter.”  Blitz scoffed, letting Reaper turn from him before wrapping their arms around their frame.  

With a widened stance, the Seeker carried the both of them up from the unkept Niconia streets.  Cutting through the lingering city haze, Blitz softly brought his thrusters down to not put any more strain on either of them upon landing.  Adjusting on their peds, Reaper shook themselves back into focus as they scanned the vitals of what was left of the skirmish.  Eight dead; two fading.  Shaking their head, Reaper led both of them to confirm all of that.

Going from body to body, Reaper made sure each of their sparks had actually been extinguished.  As much brutality as they offer with each hunt they take, the cold face of mortality was to be respected; death was inevitable for every living thing, regardless of lifespan or otherwise.  If they were to expedite those between him and his target, they would guarantee a clean passing at the bare minimum.  All of these fallen, Autobot, civilians, or whichever, deserved the same…  Just as they pray one day another might grant the same to them. 

Making their way to the smoldering transport after checking on the others, the two were drawn in by the struggling groans of the two surviving Autobots.  Mobius was hardly present behind her optics, while Denati had remained trapped under the wreckage of the transport; at least they had been able to spin their torso around to be upwards, as they fruitlessly tried to shove themselves from their disabled legs.

At the sight of both of them, the medic gave a rolling laugh.  “Well…  If it isn’t the pretty little white mask and their favorite kite…”  Defiant as always, she knew she was going to die…  She just would be cackling the whole way.

Holding off a swell of disgust from Blitzwing with a lifted servo, Reaper ignored the comment as they extended what was left of their dual blades.  Worn down from their use on the surface of the building, they were now another thing to be repaired and reforged; they could re-engrave the preferred pattern later, but for the time being, they were long enough to finish Mobius.  Kneeling carefully beside the small femme, they eased the Autobot onto their back to look into their flickering optics.  A tired panic swelled from what was left of her, seeing the Hunter return; their digits weakly moving towards Reaper’s grip.

“Fade in peace.”  They spoke, their voice soft and tender with that of a passing prayer, before driving the worn blades delicately between her chest plates.  Holding them still, they kept the lengths of sharpened metal firmly seated through her core until she grew still.

Hanging their head for a moment, Reaper sighed; they had kept them waiting long enough.  Despite the earlier optimism of the medic, the injuries sustained by this scout were grave.  She wouldn’t have survived anyway with them leaving as they planned; it was unlikely she’d survive even with a full medical suite planet-side.  Standing sorely, they now turned their attention to the last.

“Praxis left you both…”  They growled softly as they approached, shaking Mobius’ fluids from their blades.  “Why?”

“Had an exit to catch…”  Denati answered with a grin, but behind her optics, she was angered by the same question.

“I’m sorry.”  Reaper sighed, shooting a glance at Blitzwing as he continued.

“You should be sorry that you didn’t catch her.”  

The heat on her words soured their mood for this bot.  “He could not have saved at least you before leaving?”  Ignoring the comment, they drilled their question once more.

The medic looked away for a moment, their own optics rolling over their thoughts.  “I’m not feeding your ego…”  She answered, the hints of hurt in her voice…  She was as furious as they were.  “Go ask the cod-piece yourself.”

“I promise that I will once I find him.”  Reaper gave a nod before looking towards Blitz in thought.  

“Your hunt, your call…”  Their Seeker answered simply.  “We could take her to medical.  Might still be of use like Chromia and Nas.” 

“One could hope.”  Reaper mulled it over, favoring the latter; death was not always warranted for-

“It must have sucked when all those Wreckers got the rest of the Long Hunters, huh?”  Denati grunted, not wanting any mutual ground from these Cons.  “Damn shame your little fan club’s almost gone.” 

Blitzwing scowled only to turn his gaze away for a moment, receiving some data.  “I have their exit frequency; a heading.”  He said quietly towards Reaper.

“Your Pact…  Knockoffs…  Nothing more than repaints.”  She spat so scandalously.

“My work speaks otherwise.”  Reaper growled simply, dropping his Spiker from his gauntlet and quickly firing a trio of bolts into the downed bot; two of which split her throat and helm, ultimately silencing them without any effort.

With a quiet hum of acceptance to the cold passing, Blitzwing glanced away as they straightened for further orders.

“I’ll be leaving.”  Reaper said simply, folding their battlemask to finally show their face.  “Tell Starscream the hunt continues.  Have Barricade and Chromia pick through this site and send me what they find.”  Grinning, the Seeker gave a soft nod.  “Have fun hunting.”

Giving Blitz a little look, their face plates shifted to bear some of their fangs.  “I always do.”

== THE PACT OF STEEL & STONE==

Brutus nodded and headed over to the bar across the room. 

“Don’t worry about all of ‘em,” A Hunter at another table said to her while gesturing to the rest of the bar. “Bugs do sometimes seem to be the least evil out of all the stuff that we face out there. Don’t doubt there are some good out there too.” 

“You've obviously never seen the bone piles around Old Russia,” the Warlock interjected. “Or heard about what they did to London.” 

Nicole put up a hand, “I personally never saw any piles of bones other than the dead from the Collapse. Then they also had a whole deal with Discovery Point and eventually old Portland, so I think Mist was fine.” 

The Warlock flicked the hair out of their face, and took a sip of their drink. “I’d have to see for myself to be sure.” 

Brutus returned to the table and placed a much larger glass of some alcoholic beverage into Nicole’s hands. “Much appreciated,” she raised the drink and took a long sip. “Do you want me to continue here, or have you heard enough?

Before Brutus could reply the Warlock pointed a finger at her. “We’re invested at this point regardless. Let's hear the rest.” 

“Alright well, there’s still a lot more... we haven’t even gotten through the first year yet.” Nicole took another sip and started again.

Central Seattle Ruins. Pacific Northwest  House Mist Territory +225 Days  ----

As good as he was at giving her speaking lessons, Rykis was a terrible teacher for the written language. For that, Nicole had to attend something like a class. It was not anything official like a school from the pre-Collapse, not that she remembered anything like that, it was more of a co-op between parents for the young Eliksni. Nicole sat cross legged in the back of a group of tiny hatchlings, all nearly a fifth of her size. It made her feel slightly awkward, but once she was done she should be able to read their signage around the city. She wanted to learn this skill herself, even though her Ghost could read and translate any sign for her. 

For lunch, she had packed one of the Greenhouse Oranges and dried fish to eat while the younglings ate what their parents or family brought for them. Nicole’s first interaction with an orange had been amusing to everyone but herself. She had bit right through the rind and chewed like an apple, which she had eaten before. It was bitter, and then sweet. Not the best combination and the expression on her face had made both Rykis and her Ghost burst into laughs. The two of them had let her walk right into that on her own. Much to her embarrassment, she did it again with the banana. Those bastards. 

She headed outside of the space they used as a classroom, back in ancient history it had been a coffee shop overlooking a small park. At some point, that park had overflowed its banks, and flooded across the avenue it sat on. Parks and green space like it had probably been the start of all the nature that took the city back after the Collapse. 

Nicole tossed the rind into an old rusted trash can where the sidewalk used to be and chewed on the orange slices. She almost swallowed a seed when a voice whispered practically in her ear. “Hey Neh-cole.” 

She turned around, but there was no one there. A tap on her shoulder from the other direction sent her back around. “Or is it Niakin? That's what everyone else seems to be calling you out there.” 

Nicole looked back and forth for the voice. Nothing at all. “I don't even know what Niakin means.” She replied, still searching for an origin. The voice was familiar, feminine and speaking english with an accent. It looked like her Ghost did not feel like helping either, he stayed quiet. 

Another shoulder tap, followed by a sigh. “Look up.” 

Immediately, she did and saw a slightly distorted patch of air around the metal beams that had supported an awning at some point. There was a crackle of arc energy that spread across the form and the distortion faded to reveal an Eliksni laying across the beam. 

“Wait... Jasix? Is that you?”

The Vandal Scout laughed and gently lowered herself to the street. “That’s right. How have you been doing Niakin?” 

Nicole laughed too, now that she realized it was just her friend messing around. It had been nearly two months since she had seen her last. “I’ve been fine, you missed my induction into the House.” She gave the Vandal a playful nudge. 

“Truly sorry about that, but I was out on a run and didn’t exactly have time to return.” Jasix took off her hood and scratched the top of her head with one of her arms. 

“Yeah... he did sort of spring it on me too.” Nicole said. “Anyway.. What the fuck does Niakin mean? I’ve heard it a few times here and an old shop keeper kept calling me that. Rykis has no idea.” 

The look of exasperation on her face made Jasix suppress a chittering giggle. “Ah it is old name from Riis... home. Old guard say you're one of us now, you get a proper name.”

“Oh, I see,” Nicole smiled. “It sounds nice…. Now that I know what it is.” 

Jasix let out a loud chittering laugh. “Yes, it's goooood.” 

“So what brings you around, other than to check in on your newest sister?” Nicole gave her another nudge. 

Jasix switched back to speaking normally in her native Eliksni language. “Well the Kell is finally sending an expedition across the mountains at the request of Pedro from the fort. It's obvious that you are valuable for such a mission.” 

“Hmm, that's right, Pedro did mention wanting to head out there when I first met with him, glad it’s happening.” Nicole nodded. “And that I’m going with them, you too I take it?” 

“Yes, I will be going too but as lead scout.  I’ve been out that way many times, not in recent years though.” She said, “For obvious reasons that you cleared up.” 

“Was it really that bad out there?” Nicole asked, but then shook her head. “Nevermind...” She recalled that on her first night she and Rykis had run into a Devil raid just outside the ruins of Bellevue. “It's not like... I did that much at the pass though.” 

Jasix shrugged. “You were the push that got the Kell to okay the strike, that was enough. Plus on all those other excursions, you drew the Devils’ fire.” 

Nicole laughed a bit at that. “True, I make a good walking target at the very least. When do we leave?”  

“Right away,” Jasix said. “Transports are waiting at the upper market.” 

“Do I have time to let Rykis know?” She got up and started up the road towards the old convention center. They would be passing by the art museum where she and Rykis lived now.

Jasix hopped along behind her, keeping pace. “Rykis is waiting by the vehicles, Kell doesn’t want him going though.” 

“Damn... I haven’t been able to spend much time with him lately.” “Don’t worry, Rykis will be waiting for you to get back,” Jasix chittered a laugh. The two walked a few blocks north and passed the ancient brick and mortar district into the more modern canyons of rotting steel and glass. 

The Eliksni of the House of Mist preferred to set up in the shorter, stout, likely historical buildings that wove between two different styles of structure that made up Seattle's old downtown. There were collapsing ruins all over the city, and then tall visually distinct towers that reached far into the clouds further east. The latter towers were in very good condition... almost strangely so. Other than moss and foliage growing in centuries of dirt buildup all over the exterior, they looked pristine.

As far as Nicole knew there was no one living in the towers yet, but it made sense; the density of Eliksni spread out over the region was low enough that there were simply more buildings than residents at the time.

Though she had heard rumors from the locals that lived near the skyscraping towers felt that something was wrong with the towers, and that they should not be occupied, or disturbed. Nicole planned to spend as little time as possible near those buildings for now, but She thought that the old UMIC headquarters was there somewhere, which was something she needed to check out eventually. They had to divert around a closed off block where the House was starting to disassemble and demolish a small section of exceptionally hazardous buildings. This was going to be their first time doing that sort of work, the last few months after the Devils were beaten back have been a boon for improvement work to the region. There was a crew put together to shore up or tear down old failing buildings, and there were a lot of them across the city;  her Ghost had estimated they would be at it for the better part of a decade. 

The sound of activity ahead signaled their arrival to the upper market. While the lower market focused mainly on local trade, the upper market was the hub for regional sales. Vendors from all over the House of Mist’s territory traveled to the collection of buildings and covered walkways to sell their scrap, salvage, and food. Rykis told her that he did most of his work here back when Human traders from across the mountains came in. However, that all stopped when the Devils showed up. 

The market occupied the old convention center complex that spanned over the highway. Its massive open halls made good spaces for the regional traders to set up their shops and store their wares. The vast space below the buildings was where the highway passed through, as well as various covered garage spaces and service areas that the House of Mist used to store most of its vehicle fleet.

“Neh-cole!” Rykis called and waved from over by the stairs that led down to the highway. 

She smiled and gave him a hug, briefly enjoying the limited time they got together. “Good to see you Rykis.” The embrace lasted only a few moments, all four of his arms holding her close, and then they parted. “Good luck on this mission, I hope it goes smoothly.” “As do I...” Nicole sighed. “Hopefully it's just an in-and-out formal visit.” “Good to see, Jasix.” Rykis gave her a friendly wave as she joined the two by the stairs. “I would say keep Neh-cole safe... but the opposite is true,” He laughed. 

“That's right, our undying friend here needs to protect me.” She joined in his laugh. 

Nicole shook her head with a smirk and put her hands on her hips. “Yeah okay I’ll do that.” 

Though the sudden thought of the mortality of her friends struck her, and made her realize that Rykis not going on these missions was a good thing. She had thought about this before, but it had been what felt like forever since there had been a real combat mission performed and she had started to become too comfortable about leaving the city. 

She would come back, the others could not. 

With a slight frown, she gave Rykis another hug and started down the stairs towards the trucks that waited below. It was a pair of large trucks similar to the one that had picked her and Rykis up from the hotel outside Bellevue the night she was officially welcomed into the House. Their large blocky cab and covered cargo bed were ideal for the mixed sizes of the Eliksni ground forces. A single tank sat ahead of the trucks and was draped in cargo nets stuffed with plants and tree branches; spring camouflage to keep it hidden among the overgrown ruins. 

Nicole nodded up to the cluster of Skiffs backed into a cargo dock near the top of the cavernous space. “Why don’t we fly out there? It would be a hell of a lot quicker.” 

“Captain Takas does not want the Skiffs beyond the mountains until a ground recon is done, and before you ask, Pikes might get us shot at by the Human locals.” Jasix replied.

“I’ve been really wanting to get some time on a Pike... those look fun.” She frowned, trying to bring her mind around to less depressing things. “Well there are not many left in this region, Baroness Tansis is working on fixing the few we have in the south. Maybe if you ask nicely...” 

“No, it's fine.” Nicole waved the thought away and folded into the circle of Vandals and Dregs near one of the trucks. At the center of the circle was a new Captain she had never met before. Granted, that list of those that she knew was still very small. 

“Ah, good, Niakin and Jasix have arrived.” The Captain said as soon as he saw them. He also used that new name that's going around, Nicole was not sure about it yet, but she might not have any control over it. “I am Captain Tyvos, the leader of this mission. It should be an easy crossing, we will have Jackwing support throughout the expedition, but they will stay at high altitude unless needed.” Nicole looked over at Jasix with a surprised expression; they weren’t going to use Skiffs, but the Kell was letting them get a Jackwing support flight? Jackwings were the even more rare fighter class that the House had. She had only ever seen them when she visited the old military base, supposedly they used them to keep most of the Devil skiffs from fleeing the pass, but she had missed that part. 

“Jackwing recon of the area is unreliable, due to the altitude restriction, so we will be going in to check up on the Humans in a town called George. We have also been unable to reach any of our outposts in the region, so we will be checking in on them as well- however power is still flowing from the network, so I expect that just their communications relay to be down. Clear?” A general sound of agreement from the Eliksni, and Nicole nodded. Captain Tyvos had them mount up on the vehicles, while he and his small crew moved to the tank. He was too large to fit inside, but he found a seat on the back. He sat cross-legged in an armored nest of metal and sandbags. 

Nicole hopped in the back of one of the trucks and settled into a pile of netting for cushion. There were a ton of crates stacked up near the cab, so she figured this was the supply truck. Jasix climbed in and moved one of the crates over to the rear and used it to sit with a leg hanging over the tailgate.  

The truck rumbled to life beneath her and the convoy rolled out and onto the highway. The day was warm out on the road; back in the city under all the trees and in the shadows of the ruins it had been cool and comfortable. Nicole was under cover but with her helmet off she could feel it in every breath she took. 

After the first hour they were cruising up the mountain pass and approaching the battle site at the lakebed. The air up in the mountains was definitely cooler than down below, the altitude and wind providing all the relief Nicole needed. She and Jasix had pulled down the canvas cover for the truck to just let the air flow. As they drove across the highway, she looked out over the lakebed, there was not much left of the old House of Devil’s camp; any left over supplies or ruined vehicles had been stripped by House Mist scrappers and the spring growth hid anything else beneath the tall grass.