Turn 26: Seven Ways 'Till Sunday
I aim a slice at my foe's legs, hoping to disable him while I keep moving toward the edge of the city.
[4+2][1] Despite your best efforts you are unable to harm your foe. You attempt to escape instead. [2+1] You drive away, but before you get far you've found your foe took a shortcut and is still in your pathway.
Roar in fury and unleash everything I have in Air Raid's general direction. Let him be smug thinking I just missed; my real target is Thundercrash. NOBODY DESTROYS MY RAGE BRO BOT.
If Air Raid is stupid enough to get close, transform, grab him in mid-air, and pile driver him into the ground.
[3+4][4][4] You launch a flurry of various ammo at Thundercrash, hitting him dead-on. However, his armor absorbs the impact. And now Air Raid's determined to bring you down. You prepare for a melee strike as soon as he's in range.
RUN THE FUCK AWAY.
SET OFF MISSILES BUT INSTEAD OF FIRING THEM USE THEM TO INCREASE SPEED.
[6+1] You flee for your life, knocking Thundercrash and Blue Jay out of your way as you speed through the streets. You're fairly certain you've lost them. (+1 to Vehicle Use)
Save Band Kannon with an airborne barrage
As soon as Band Kannon is clear, you send a barrage of shots at the Autobots that had fought against him. [4+2][1] [5+2][3] Both Autobots take cover and survive the bombardment.
get to maximum altitude, commence dogfight
You shoot into the sky, Silverbolt on your tail, and whip around, opening up with your guns. [1+2] This attempt absolutely fails, and all of your shots miss.
Continue chasing Codespark while attempting to hack, just try to train weapons on codespark for a arget lock, evade other aircraft using VTOL jets to rappidly change direction, randomly, if required
[4+1] You ensure Autobot superiority in the ongoing communications conflict, and attempt to gain a lock on Codespark. [2] In a word, you fail. No other Autobots have attempted to fight you.
I'm not about to let Band Kannon get away. Not when I'm so close. I attack him with my grenades and machine gun. It won't take much to finish him off in his condition.
No matter what happens, after I fire, I will retreat and attempt to link up with the rest of my Autobot cohorts.
[6] Just before Band Kannon rounds the corner, you fire at him with everything available. [4+2][6][5] You hit him with a grenade, knocking off a large chunk of his back. His spark goes critical trying to keep his shattered body intact. (+1 to Blaster Use)
Use my maneuverability to maximum effect, pulling Gs that would incapacitate or kill a human, and perform evasive maneuvers while firing at Contrail and attempt to jam his weapons/targeting systems. While firing at him, shoot for weak spots and try to keep on his tail while keeping him off of my tail. Also keep up the jamming on Autobot communications.
In other words, its going to be a lower altitude dogfight.
[6+1] You enter an evasive pattern of movement that would kill most human pilots. It works, however, and you'll be much harder to hit come the next volley. (-3 to all attempts to hit next turn)
You also get in a shot or two at the Autobot trailing you. [6+3][2] Your shots are accurate, but not powerful enough to harm him. (+1 to Combat Movement)
Order turrets to keep firing at Magnus, aiming for the face. Open a channel to Megatron, ask if he requires assistance. If he does require it, leave the turrets and seek out Prime. If not, or there's no answer, blow a hole through Magnus's chest with my blaster cannon.
You open a channel asking if Megatron desire any help against Optimus. His response is... not courteous.
"No! Prime is mine and mine alone! Now don't bother me again!"
Well, then. You decide to focus on Magnus. Your turrets go first.
[4+3][4][4] Your first turret gets in a good shot, but Magnus' armor ensures he will live.
[6+3][6][6][6] (ZOMGWTFBBQ) Your second turret suddenly becomes self aware, transforming into a mini-you (about the size of Bumblebee) and opens fire in a very overzealous manner, heavily damaging Ultra Magnus. He transforms back into his turret form before you can even figure out what just happened.
[6+3][4][1] Your final turret becomes aware of its independence as well, but is also as dumb as a brick by Cybertronian standards. He uploads some new algorithms or similar technobabble to increase the damage of your blasters, but his own shots fail to penetrate the Autobot's armor. (Let's see here... +1 to Blaster Use, negated by the second turret to give you a whole new level. Then the third one gives you +1 damage to all blaster shots)
After all this, you take a shot at it yourself. [6+4][4][5+1] Your new Blasters work perfectly, and you zap a hole right through the Autobot's spark. He grasps at the smoking hole for a moment before his eyes go dark, and he falls to the pavement with a thud. His soldiers panic and retreat, leaving you and Starscream's bots the victors. (+1 to Blaster Use)
Decepticon Actions:City Hall
Barricade assures Shadow that this is the best thing. "This whole battle's playing right into our hands. If you'll do a survey with that drone of yours again, you'll find that Soundwave is no longer in the city, or the planet for that matter. Right now, you need to find a group of Decepticons under a blue flare, and stay with them. The rest will become obvious."
Kill Prime
Megatron leaps at the Autobot with renewed vigor, generating a new mace in place of his left arm. [5+5][6][5][3+2] He hits him dead-on this time, but his armor deflects the blow like it was just a tap. By now Megatron is about to explode with rage, and hits over and over again in blind fury.
City Hall
Starscream gets to City Hall, on the opposite side of where the Autobots are, with a few grunts led by Barricade holding down the area. They begin setting up a strange satellite dish of sorts. Back south, his team are setting up an identical satellite, and wave Bulwark over to stay near them.
Keep fighting
The Constructicons see the blue flares, but shake their heads in silence. They are in the middle of combat, and cannot set up their satellite. They accept their grim fate, and attempt to take the Autobots with them. The Crane rushes towards Hot Rod and swings its hook again. [4+2-1][2] This time, Hot Rod catches it in his hand and tosses it away as he focuses on the Steamroller, who tries to attack again. [2+2][6][4] He bashes the Autobot on his head, knocking him to the floor.
The Dump Truck makes a final desperate attack on Bulkhead. [3+2][6][4] He punches the Autobot square in the jaw, sending him sprawling to the floor. He revels in his victory only to see in shock as Bulkhead rises to his feet unscathed.
Fight off Contrail
A Decepticon plane known as Skywarp comes shooting out of the sky, already locked on the Autobot tailing Codespark. He lets loose with a cluster of missiles. [5+3][6][6] They hit the Autobot head-on, knocking him off course for a moment. He revels in his victory as he opens a channel to Codespark, informing him that backup has arrived. (+1 to Blaster Use)
Autobot Actions:Depressed
Blue Jay shouts and curses as Band Kannon escapes again, before finally falling on the ground and sulking. If a Transformer could cry, there'd be a damned river in this city.
Confusion
Bulkhead wonders out loud into his comlink why all these blue flares are going up. As he does this, he resolves to finish off the Dump Truck. [2+4][4][4] He lifts up the struggling Decepticon and makes a strained grunt as he rips him in two. He ignores the screams of protest and drops the dying, sparking remains to the ground as he turns toward the parking garage, immediately rushing to save Hot Rod.
Respond to Bulkhead
"That's a good question, Bulkhead. We'll get to the bottom of it. For now, however, we must focus on our immediate foes." As he ends the transmission he brings up his axe to block yet another strike by the furious Megatron. Optimus swings his axe again, trying to end the Decepticon as quickly as he can. [3+5][4][2+4] He strikes Megatron in the leg, tripping the Decepticon leader onto his back. (CJ's note: This isn't even a fight anymore. Frankly, it's just embarrassing. I mean, Optimus is essentially talking on the phone while he kicks Megatron's ass all across the park.)
Fight back
Hot Rod swings his blade at the Steamroller yet again. [4+4][1] The Constructicon brings up his arms and deflects the blow with ease, backing the Autobot towards the corner of the building.
Fight Shadow
Not content to just terrify the Decepticon with his speed, the Vanguard tries to kill him as well. [3+3][3] However, Shadow's agility allows him to lessen the impact of the Vanguard's strikes, making his weapon rather ineffectual.
Fight Lightning Edge
[4+3-1][5][5] Silverbolt overcomes his fear long enough to shred one of Lightning Edge's wings. (+1 to Blaster Use)
Melee Combat
Not content with a dogfight, Air Raid goes into melee where he's more comfortable. He is met with a counter-attack that Hacksaw had prepared. [2+2][5][4] The attack bats him away from the chopper, though without much damage. Undeterred, Air Raid tries his own attack. [3+2][4][6] The strike sends the chopper plummeting towards the ground, barely keeping stable. He unashamedly marvels at his own skill.
Name: Band Kannon
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: Bandkanon
Skills:
*Blaster Use 3/5 (3 to level)
*Repair 1/5 (1 to level)
*Vehicle Use 1/5 (1 to level)
Status: Critical (up to +1); Armored(-1 to all damage taken)
Name: Codespark
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: UH-1 Iroquois
Skills:
*Hacking 2/5 (2 to level)
*Repair 2/5 (3 to level)
*Vehicle Use 2/5 (1 to level)
*Blaster Use 3/5 (3 to level)
*Combat Movement 1/5 (1 to level)
Status: Optimal+1 (up to +1)
Name: Shadow
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: Custom Sports Car
Skills:
*Melee Weapons 2/5 (3 to level)
*Repair 2/5 (3 to level)
*Vehicle Use 1/5 (2 to level)
*Hacking 1/5 (1 to level)
*Blaster Use 0/5 (1 to level)
Status: Optimal+1; Electro-Sword (+1 to Damage dealt in melee)
Name: Thundercrash
Faction: Decepticon/Autobot
Vehicle: M1132 ESV
Skills:
*Melee Weapons 2/5 (3 to level)
*Blaster Use 2/5 (2 to level)
*Repair 1/5 (2 to level)
*Vehicle Use 0/5 (1 to level)
*Unarmed Combat 0/5 (1 to level)
Status: Optimal; Armored (-1 to all damage taken)
Name: Hacksaw
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: Hind Copter
Skills:
*Blaster Use 4/5 (4 to level)
*Melee Weapons 2/5 (3 to level)
*Repair 0/5 (1 to level)
*Vehicle Use 1/5 (2 to level)
*Combat Movement 0/5 (1 to level)
Status: Very Damaged (up to +1)
Name: Alexander Omega
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: Sports Car
Skills:
*Melee Weapons 2/5 (3 to level)
*Combat Movement 1/5 (1 to level)
*Vehicle Use 1/5 (1 to level)
*Unarmed Combat 0/5 (1 to level)
*Hacking 0/5 (1 to level)
*Repair 0/5 (1 to level)
Status: Extremely Damaged
Name: Contrail
Faction: Autobot
Vehicle: Harrier Jump-Jet
Skills:
*Blaster Use 1/5 (2 to level)
*Combat Movement 1/5 (2 to level)
*Vehicle Use 1/5 (1 to level)
*Hacking 1/5 (2 to level)
Status: Optimal; Heavily Armored (-2 to all damage taken)
Name: Bulwark
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: Cyclone Patrol Ship w/ Remote Turrets+Mini-Transformer
Skills:
*Blaster Use 4/5 (4 to level)
*Vehicle Use 1/5 (1 to level)
*Repair 0/5 (1 to level)
*Hacking 0/5 (1 to level)
Status: Optimal+1; Upgraded Blasters (+1 to Blaster Damage
Name: SkyFall
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: AC-130
Skills:
*Blaster Use 2/5 (3 to level)
*Hacking 1/5 (2 to level)
*Vehicle Use 0/5 (1 to level)
*Repair 0/5 (1 to level)
Status: Optimal+1
Name: Lightning Edge
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: AV-8B Harrier II
Skills:
*Blaster Use 2/5 (3 to level)
*Combat Movement 0/5 (1 to level)
*Repair 1/5 (1 to level)
Status: Optimal+1; Electro-Armor (Melee Attackers take 1 damage on failed roll)
Decepticons:Name: Barricade
Faction: Decepticon[/b]
Vehicle: Police Cruiser[/b]
Skills:
*Vehicle Use 2/5 (2 to level)
*Melee Weapons 2/5 (3 to level)
*Blaster Use 3/5 (2 to level)
*Repair 0/5 (1 to level)
Status: Optimal+3
Name: Megatron (Advanced)
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: Cybertronian Tank/Jet
Skills:
*Melee Weapons 5/5 Mastery 2/5 (6 to level)
*Blaster Use 5/5
*Combat Movement 4/5 (5 to level)
*Vehicle Use 2/5 (3 to level)
Status: Optimal (up to +12); Heavily Armored (-2 to all damage taken)
Name: Starscream
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: F-22 Raptor
Skills:*Blaster Use 5/5
*Combat Movement 2/5 (3 to level)
*Melee Weapons 2/5 (3 to level)
Status: Damaged (up to +2)[/quote]
Vehicle: Chopper
*Blaster Use 1/5 (1 to level)
Optimal
Vehicle: Car
*Melee Weapons 1/5 (2 to level)
Optimal
Vehicle: Tank
*Blaster Use 1/5 (1 to level)
Damaged; Armored (-1 to all damage taken)
Vehicle: Crane
*Melee Weapons 2/5 (2 to level)
Optimal+1
Vehicle: Steamroller
*Melee Weapons 2/5 (3 to level)
Extremely Damaged
Name: Skywarp
Faction: Decepticon
Vehicle: White and Purple Jet
Skills:
*Blaster Use 3/5 (3 to level)
*Combat Movement 2/5 (3 to level)
Status: Optimal+2; Armored (-1 to all damage taken)
Autobots:Name: Blue Jay
Faction: Autobot
Vehicle: Blue Camaro
Skills:
*Combat Movement 1/5 (2 to level)
*Blaster Use 2/5 (2 to level)
*Melee Weapons 1/5 (1 to level)
*Repair 0/5 (1 to level)
*Vehicle Use 0/5 (1 to level)
Status: Damaged (up to +2)
Name: Bulkhead
Faction: Autobot
Vehicle: Green Tank
Skills:
*Blaster Use 1/5 (2 to level)
*Melee Weapons 4/5 (4 to level)
Status: Optimal+3 (up to +3); Heavily Armored (-2 to all damage taken)
Name: Optimus Prime (Armored)
Faction: Autobot
Vehicle: Blue and Red Semi-truck (Unavailable)
Skills:
*Melee Weapons 5/5 Mastery 4/5 (12 to level)
*Blaster Use 5/5
*Combat Movement 4/5
*Speech 5/5
Status: Optimal+11 (up to +12); Heavily Armored (-2 to all damage taken)
Name: Hot Rod
Faction: Autobot
Vehicle: Red Mustang
Skills:
*Melee Weapons 4/5 (5 to level)
*Blaster Use 2/5 (1 to level)
*Combat Movement 1/5 (2 to level)
*Speech 2/5 (3 to level)
Status: Extremely Damaged (up to +4)
Name: Faction: Autobot
Vehicle: Unknown
Skills:*Melee Weapons 3/5
Status: Optimal+1 (up to +3)
Name: Silverbolt
Faction: Autobot
Vehicle: Silver Jet
Skills:
*Blaster Use 3/5 (3 to level)
*Combat Movement 1/5 (2 to level)
*Melee Weapons 0/5 (1 to level)
Status: Optimal+2; Aerophobia (-1 to actions while in Jet Mode)
Name: Air Raid
Faction: Autobot
Vehicle: Red Jet
Skills:
*Blaster Use 2/5 (3 to level)
*Combat Movement 1/5 (2 to level)
*Melee Weapons 2/5 (3 to level)
Status: Optimal+1 (up to +2)
After Sean Mirrsen's turn, I've decided to add a new rule: Only 2 critical upgrades per turn, maximum.