Shipyard Disturbance

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Characters: Forth, Open to All
Location: Crown City Shipyard
Content Warnings: N/A
Plot Summary: Strange things have been going on at the Crown City Shipyard, causing the humans to think it's haunted. But the truth of it all is clear to both sides when a rogue Decepticon signal pops up now and again.

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He had been in this junk heap for over a week now and it had been sometime since the ship crashed, allowing Forth to make his escape. It was by luck that the little dragon-like Mini-con had stumbled upon this place, much less the little fleshy creatures that seemed to be working there. He had watched them for a few hours, waiting for there to be fewer running around before had made his move to dash from his hiding spot and into the shipyard warehouse.

Luckily, his small form allowed him to slip by fairly easily and make his way in robot mode up to the rafters. The effort had required him to shimmy up some places and make a leap in one spot but he had nevertheless found a fairly good spot to go unnoticed and moving around without relative concern of being discovered. When night was around Forth had no concerns of moving around save for the occasional human security, but he was able to duck behind equipment or materials to avoid being seen before he went to his work. Moving a beam here, tossing about tools there, making markings from time to time. He even made an effort to use the oil or paints available there to vandalize the walls or the sides of ships for his amusement, watching with great satisfaction as the humans couldn't seem to figure out what was going on.

Forth had even resorted to causing items to move unexpectedly throughout the day for his own amusement, startling the humans and causing many to creep inside. They always checked everything before they left and before they came in, being dumbfounded by the odd movements and seeming to blame it on what they called "hooligans". What were hooligans? Perhaps in time he would learn, but Forth had been making the shipyard his playground and giving him something entertaining to do for a little while.

On the seventh night though, the humans locked up and left but Forth waited for about an hour or so before he dropped down. The landing kicked up dust and left small two-clawed impressions, something he could wipe away later before morning came. With a slight grin, Forth dashed over to a pile of freshly brought in paint, golden optics gleaming his mischief. Turning on the spot he slammed his tail into the paint cans, knocking them over to splatter along the ground, materials, and wall before trotting about in the paint and picking up a paint brush that fell from an open can in his jaws. Dipping it in the paint, he strolled over to some crates and began to make random shapes and writing on them before moving to the walls, leaving blue, white, red, and black paint footprints, mainly smeared about, as he went. Not that he really stopped there.

He took time to smash a beam with enough force to leave gauges, throw the tools about or put them out of order, knock over oars, nets, and booeys, and tearing open canisters with his claws and teeth. All the while, Forth wasn't aware the local news was starting to pick up on this activity, much less his signal drawing some attention to the area. He wasn't exactly making much effort to hide his Decepticon signal, and what exactly did he have to worry about other than these fleshy creatures?

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Nines’s visor shuttered online, as he awoke from recharge. He gave a small yawn, stretching as he looked about confusedly. He was in the hull of a large, abandoned ship for some reason. His mind was extra foggy. Why was he here? Nines blinked, clumsily rised up as his servos searched for the proper gripping to get up from his crouch. His gears ached from being crammed in a ship for hours, although by human standards the large rig was huge, to the vehicon it was the human equivalent of an oversized action packer. It was night, and he could tell by the extra dim lighting. Slowly, Nines crawled his way out of the boat, making his way into the refreshing air outside. His visor stole a glimpse of the sky, jogging his memory.

He was here because he’d been reading strange scans from this little port for a few days now. Something small was tussling about. But he hadn’t come via groundbridge at night, it risked scaring the little whatever-it-was too much. Nines had barely snuck into the boat to wait out the day, so he could come out with the least amount of noise. He’d passed out into a nap, like he often did when he held still for too long. Nines recalled the loud bangs he’d caused to get out, releasing a gruff sigh.

Stealth wasn’t his thing. Brushing himself off, the mech began walking carefully through the shipyard, following the signal.
“Alright lil’ bugger, where are you?” Nines muttered as his visor scoured the area. He was catching a signal, but the distinct bursts of noise told Nines his little friend wasn’t too far off. As he walked, he couldn’t help but wonder if his old friend Gox was lurking around. Gox was a tiny little minicon who fit the size of the current signal. Gox…Gox was a nice little thing, minus the mischievous nature, the love of being annoying, and having a bit of tongue. Other than that Gox was a fine companion. Nines quietly missed the little fun arguments they had—hopefully this signal was that little adorable minicon.

The signal was just around the corner now.

Nines took a small breath, before swinging around the corner, looking into the warehouse that the signal came from. Instantly, the tiny little predicon came into sight; Nines didn’t have time to show any disappointment as his visor stared in confusion at the mess of a minicon before him: it was a tiny blue dragon-like creature, a brush in his mouth, trailing behind him painted footsteps. Nines paused for a few second, narrowing his eyes as he glanced around at all the chaos that had already occurred within the storage house. He glanced back to the little con. This was the source of the small Decepticon signal alright.

“’The heck?” Nines summed his thoughts up in two words.

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Perhaps this wasn't the chaos most Decepticons had in mind, and the nearby city probably would have been a more appropriate target for anything chaotic. But this was something Forth found amusing in his own weird way. He'd happily stick to this place until it no longer seemed worthwhile to continue the mischief or opportunity presented itself for a new place to call his playground. And that opportunity seemed just within reach as a new voice spoke, this one certainly not sounding human.

Turning on the spot when hearing Nines, Forth gazed back at the larger Cybertronian with equal confusion. So there were other Cybertronians still lurking about after all? He hadn't seen others since being aboard the Alchemor for those years of imprisonment so this was definitely an unexpected turn. But the confusion began to turn into caution then, the little dragon-like Mini-con looking over the mishmash of a Cybertronian before him. He looked like a Vehicon common in the Decepticon army but that didn't mean he was one...No, there it was! Forth spotted the insignia after a bit and spat out the brush into paint puddle that was around his feet before tiptoeing out of it so he could focus on the Decepticon before him.

But he paused. Would this mech understand him when he growled? Sure, Forth could pronounce his words when he growled but some still had a difficult time understanding him or seemed to not get every word. With this in mind, the little mini-con instead transformed to his robot mode, seeming as he didn't seem to be required to combat anyone for the time being. "What? Still causing chaos for the lifeforms here on this planet. I like to do my own pranks." Forth said with a shrug, showing a prideful mischievous grin as if he had accomplished something important. Least to him it had been something worth doing after being locked up for so long.

"Names Forth, came from that prison ship they called the Alchemor." Forth introduce. "What's your name? Are there other Decepticons here? Any other escaped prisoners" He inquired, figuring it would be the best start to know who he was talking to and more about what status of the Decepticons.

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Nines just stared blankly at the little ball of mischief in front of him. The small minicon was covered in paint, was wrecking havoc in an entire warehouse. Nines was already adding up all the damage this troublemaker had caused. Nines didn't flinch when he saw the small thing transform into something bi-pedal. Usually with little guys like those anything was possible. Big surprises came in small packages. As the little bot explained himself and asked questions, Nines tried hard to imagine him on the Nemesis. The trouble maker would probably have at least four squads of vehicons cursing within the week. 

"Name's Nines." the heavily modified vehicon said casually, "Decepticons are on this planet alright Forth. Lead under big ol' "M" himself." Nines leaned against the wall, reaching into his pack for his pipe. He was interested in this little bugger. 

"Hmm. The Alchemor." Nines said thoughtfully, just before his servo found the smooth pipe he'd been looking for. He brightened up a bit, as he slid the desired item out of his stash, adjusting the small induction port so that it would fit into his mask's venting systems. 

"Doesn't ring a bell. I feel like there was talk about some wolf-freakshow walkin' about from the Alchemor, but other than that I've never heard of it."  Nines said thoughtfully. He pointed the back of his pipe to all the paint. "As for stirring trouble, how the heck is that doing you any good? I know you've been here for only a few days but shouldn't you be poking around for energon?" Nines asked, before placing the pipe into his masks's port, inhaling a little before receding the pipe, his vents lightly hissing away a small cloud's worth of smog. 

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Forth had to make himself patiently wait for Nines to respond,seeing the mech seemed to just stare. Was he wondering why he was causing such minor nuisances for the flesh creatures there? Maybe he was making the mech speechless? The little Predacon doubted it was surprising. He wouldn't be the first Decepticon who had caused minor damage and petty things for the sake of fun, but it wasn't a common practice where others favored the major forms of causing trouble.

And finally Nines spoke. "Nice to meet you Nines, and glad to see a fellow Decepticon after...well, a long time." Forth said, trying to recall how long he had been locked away. It had been for several years and he had lost track since he had been in stasis a lot of that time. Though he was surprised to hear that it was Megatron who was running the show there on the planet, making Forth wonder who else in the upper hierarchy was there. "So the big boss is around, eh? Never thought I'd hear that name so soon." He admitted, crossing his arms in thought but giving a soft chuckle. "Guess the Alchemor isn't very well known. Not unless you were a prisoner there."

Some wolf freak show? It wasn't ringing a bell for Forth either. He had only caught glimpses of his fellow prisoners, but he doubted he had seen all of them and a wolf-looking prisoner wasn't exactly jogging his memory. Though, it did confirm one thing for Forth. He wasn't the only prisoner out and about loose on this planet, something he had been wondering about on and off in between his ideas of mischief and amusement in watching the reactions of the humans. Though his thoughts snapped back to Nines at his own questions.

"Energon..." Forth looked thoughtful for a moment. It hadn't crossed his mind to start looking for the substance that would keep him functioning and able to continue such trouble-making behavior. Now that he thought about it, he gave his systems a quick self-diagnostic and did indeed find his energon levels were starting to run towards the low side. "Suppose it really isn't meant to help me, but more of a way to savor my freedom from being in that stasis pod for so long. I haven't been free in years and even the smallest bit of mischief feels like the greatest triumph right now." Forth explained, turning towards his handy work and raising a hand towards some small beams that were stacked neatly.

He channeled his magnetic repulsion power towards the beams, lifting them with ease before casting his hands towards some of the wooden crates nearby. The force was enough to embed the beams into the sides of the crates knowing they would be a pain to remove later. "It may not be as glorious as battling Autobots, but it's a start in my book. But you do have a point, I'll have to leave soon enough to find energon otherwise my fun won't last." Forth spoke, giving a slight pout at the thought of his fun ending so soon due to system malfunction.

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Nines relieved a puff of smoke from his masks slits as he heeded the curious little mech. Forth seemed interesting enough, though Nines had yet to make his mind up about the little guy. Nines ducked his helm in a small nod at the return on greetings, 

"'Same. And I no, not many folks that I know have heard about this Alchemor business. But it sounds like no one will have to worry about it anytime soon." He said simply, smoking his pipe while the minicon carried on. "Megatron's as around as ever. He's got plenty of superiors to go around. Though Starscream's been quiet as of late, Hexa-head hasn't shown his eyeball around town yet, Soundwave's creepin' about as always, but the DJD are around. They're gettin' more active." Nines paused between blowing another fume of smoke, "Th' Autobots got a few big names traveling' around these parts too though. Big red and blue's here, and his crew of disciples. War's a ragin' on as usual. You didn't miss much, if you're curious." Nines said passively, leaning against the war-houses opening. 

The small gap of silence in the conversation gave Nines just the right opportunity to take a deep suck through his pipe, and then tune his vents so that the smoke puffed into twin rings out both sides of his chin. Nines had no trouble making himself at home anywhere.

"Hmm. 'Glorious' things seldom happen in this war Forth. I wouldn't be putting too much worry into doing anything glorious, especially since you're a Decepticon. In the meantime, now that I found ya I suppose I could get you to base, where they'll be plenty of the blue stuff. Now." Nines knelt down, inspecting the paint, a glimmer in his visor, "What sort of mischief are we speakin' here? It's going to be back to the ol' routine back at base." Nines had been the one to point out some of the pointlessness of this sort of tom-foolery, but on second thought, he could use a break from his grim shenigans, and dealing with whatever crap was thrown his way. While he wasn't always one for pointless destruction, he could use a break, and some good old fashioned graffiti sounded like good fun. 

A make-shift design for paint bombs was coming to mind, his pipe hung in the crevice of his mask while he looked at the paints, the crow-bars, the brushes, the equipment. Some of this stuff looked like it could be used for some fun alright.

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Forth quietly listened as Nines caught him up to speed with recent events. Perhaps not so recent from the way he made things sound, making Forth a little relieved he hadn’t missed out entirely on anything but it did intrigue him. The big wigs were around, from both sides to boot and they seemed they were at their usual scraps. Would there be glory? Perhaps not as Nines pointed out. Though, another to the ranks would probably continue to tip the favor towards the Decepticon cause, a cause he was willing to jump right back into. Who knew, maybe he would see his creator again after all this time or even another Predacon, a real Predacon.

“Sounds to me things have been getting interesting though.” Forth finally spoke, finishing his inspecting of the beam he had pulled free from the crate before turning his yellow optics towards Nines who seemed to be observing his graffiti that would be washed away by morning thanks to the humans. “Suppose it’s the same old story for you guys, but for me and others the war moving here means something to do, something to look forward to. Being in those pods all the time gets cramped, irritating, and boring. Heck, sign me right back up to join the Nemesis.” The little minicon dragon said with probably greater enthusiasm than most might expect. Was Forth bored? Yes, very much so. He needed a real challenge, somewhere to really stretch his legs and cause destruction and the Decepticons would offer just that.

Though a toothy grin soon showed on his face plates, “Depends on what you’re looking for.” Forth told him, stabbing the beam back where it had been as he strolled over to where some of the oars were stacked neatly on a shelf, these ones of wood and unable to be magnetized, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do something with them. “Can be something as simple as this, which is mere sparkling’s play might I add. But if we’re talking more big league level stuff, then name it. Sabotage, stealing, thievery, misdirection, squeezing into small areas, an extra weapon, you name it and I can probably handle a few different jobs.” Forth turned back to the larger Decepticon, the glint of mischief clear in his glowing yellow gaze.

“Truth be told Nines, this has been just a small course to what I’m really searching for: a bigger opportunity. Like I said, I just came off that prison ship that seemed to crash land here on this mudball planet and this warehouse is only a small taste of what I’ve been hoping for.” Forth told him, snapping the oar in two using his knee to break it in the middle before tossing it behind him like trash. “Don’t suppose you have room for one more on that warship, do you?”[/b]

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Nines didn’t feel interested on the ‘glory’ subject enough to talk about it. This minicon could view the war he the way he wanted all he liked. Nines himself preferred to just move onto the mischief aspect for now. He gave a small grin at the small mech’s recreational methods. They didn’t really help the cause at all, or advertise the Decepticons as friendly neighborhood cybertronians, but no one really did that now-a-days anyways.

“’Big-league level stuff.’ Hmm, that isn’t going to happen for a little while. Unless some Autobots start showing up to do what self-proclaimed heroes do, not too much is going to be in our way. I’ll probably pocket some raw materials though. I know a femme who could use some raw materials. Primus knows I could too.” Nines watched the little mech knock down some human equipment, letting it smash to the floor. If they kept making noise humans and or Cybertroniasn of some kind would appear soon enough. Forth’s enthusiasm was something that made Nines arch a brow. He was eager to serve. No doubt because the Decepticons would let him be himself.

Nines had met Forth’s type before, some who liked to destroy things for the sake of destroying them or ultimately expressing themselves. Mechs and femmes who might not be able to function in normal society. Not that Nines would either. Ha! Nines felt like he could barely keep his cool in this war in the first place.

“Resource collecting can wait though. If we’re doing some fun stuff, let’s go ahead painting. I there’s a few particularly fancy rides on the driveways, maybe we can imprint on them some of our own imaginings.” Nines gestured to the paint, before finnicking with small parts in from his back-pack. He was definitely going to make some paint bombs. Immediately, he began clicking together the the random-looking gadgets and gizoms in his pack, making odd looking toss-ables. He was following an old energon grenade recipe: a thin metal casing that could hold a decent amount of liquid. In this case paint. Nines’s nimble servos made three off the bat.
“Fill one up, try throwing it yourself. It should make a pretty big ‘splat’.” Nines encouraged. “Makes me almost hope some Autobots come. I’d like to see one of them covered in pink paint.”

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"Small league then, I'm cool with that." Alright, so things weren't going completely as Forth had hoped and that did lower his spirits a little. The war before had been so vast, destructive, and held purpose, but now it seemed to have mellowed out during his imprisonment. It almost made him miss the good old days of committing crimes and running around causing havoc, big and small freely. Oh well, mischief was mischief at this rate, no matter where it occurred.

Perked up when Nines spoke up of continuing what he had started. Immediately, the Mini-con's spirits were back and his optics seemed to shine a little brighter. "Its a shipyard, they get all sorts of fancy looking water vehicles coming in and out for repairs and touch ups, so you can bet there's something out there to ruin." Forth answered, watching as the mismatched Decepticon seemed to begin working with some kind of materials, working swiftly and nimbly than he had ever seen before. Even someone like Forth couldn't help admiring the dexterity of a larger bot since most he worked with were oafish, bulky, and far from being agile or nimble. To say Forth wasn't a little captivated was an understatement.

When the final product was done, his grin got wider to the point of showing fanged teeth. "Paint bombs, I like how you think already." Forth though gestured past some crates, "They keep spare paint in the back of the warehouse if you want to fill the others." He stated, moving to open a can he had yet to make use of, finding it a rather obnoxious neon yellow, almost reminding him of his bio-lights but much brighter and not exactly easy on the optics to look at. Nevertheless, it would prove it's purpose. Forth went right to filling the metal casing, giddy with adolescent excitement as he filled it as much as he could before closing it and turning towards Nines.

"Shame the Autobots didn't pick up on my signal yet then. Perhaps we can make some of these for a good distraction in combat one day." Forth mused, 'Or I can find casings to hold the paint and give the place a little redecorating.' He mentally mused to himself, beginning to plot some pranks if he were to ever arrive on the Nemesis while waiting on Nines to take the chance to fill the other casings he had.