TG'verse. An astroid in the Nemisia sector. Interval of war
"Watch out watch out INCOMING!" Ironsides dove for cover as the missile hit, transforming so that the sturdy hide of his tank mode could take the impact of his landing. "Ack!!"
Impact occurred. Voices cried out in pain and discontent. The acidic, metallic ground took an alarming dip and sent parts of itself flying into the air.
Ironsides spun his treads a little from where he lay on his roof, then transformed and checked for more incoming as he pushed himself to his feet. "Fixer, Keeper, Pax, you alright?"
"Yeah...." The young white and blue medic stood, staggering slightly as he reached down to pull the little dirt coloured Minibot femme out of her foxhole. "We're fine. Pax?"
A light green and yellow head peered cautiously over a bit of rubble. "If you guys are talking to me you'll have to wait till I get my audios online again before I can answer."
"I'm fine, too," said a deep alto dryly.
Ironsides blinked. "Sorry, Queenie. Still not used to you being here."
Roadqueen snorted and looked skyward, her crimson optics calm and wary as she checked their surroundings.
"They're landing!" said Keeper, her antennae pointing toward the North.
Ironsides growled. "Fixer and Pax, flank me. Roadqueen, you cover the rear and make sure nobody picks off Mudlark."
"What is it with you and the stupid nicknames for females?" The big green Decepticon moved closer to Keeper, who had transformed and was now dancing lightly on the spot as she continued to scan frequencies and radio waves.
Ironsides just shook his head. "Transform and roll out."
"Yes sir!" came the chorus from Fixer and Pax.
The Meredronian squad leader laughed as he saw the approaching group of machines, feeling not an ounce of worry as they fanned out and the quadrupedal one immediately transformed and hugged the ground.
Then the tank ran over his toes.
He gave a bellow of outraged surprise and fell to one knee, trying to struggle past the waves of agony to tell his squad-mates to attack. The words were unnecessary. His brothers leaped forward as one, intent on destroying the impudent dark grey pest.
One of them got a ten pound lead round right in the throat and fell back keening.
"Whoops!" said the green and yellow hover car, taking a fast trip over another set of toes. "Excuse me!"
"Get serious, Pax," said Fixer grimly, aiming the gun on his own car mode at the nostrils of a third giant angry reptile.
"I am serious." The young bridge darted away from return fire, then made a soft sound of surprise as Roadqueen transformed from semi to mech and stepped over him to grab the shooter by the throat and send him flying.
The Meredronians were all relatively green fighters, and the sight of a robot nearly as big as they were on top of the painful attacks to their weak points was too much for their moral. The leader barked an order and they began to retreat back to their pod, dragging their damaged along with them. When it became clear that more damage was forthcoming they panicked, and chaos and destruction reigned for some time.
Then silence fell over the asteroid.
Ironsides blinked as something touched his face, realizing that he was laying on his back in an impact crater of his own creation. "Uhhh, what?"
"Just lay still." Keeper's alt mode gave him an affectionate muzzle bump. "I've called for medical evac."
The grey and dark green Minibot frowned as his diagnostics informed him that he'd lost a leg and that the other was too twisted to use. If Fixer wasn't here fussing.... "How bad's the Doc?"
"He's offline," said Keeper, looking up and listening with audios and antennae as she shook her mane out of her face. "And a little flat. But Roadqueen says he's going to be alright."
"Good." Ironsides offlined his optics for a moment as his body fully realized the extent of the damage it had sustained and started sending out warnings and pain signals. "Pax?"
"Came through like he always does." Keeper looked up as their token Decepticon suddenly loomed over them.
"Darn kid." Ironsides frowned hazily up at Roadqueen, who stooped over him and opened his chest panel to tinker a bit. "What...?"
"We don't use those pain tabs," said the tall soldier, closing the panel again and looking at him for reaction. "That should keep you from going into shock."
"Hrm... thanks." He frowned as he felt himself tipping toward offline. "Keeper... you're in charge."
"Yes sir." She shifted and knelt beside him as Roadqueen said something about getting the medic and bringing him over here. That was the last that Ironsides remembered for awhile.