Chapter Text
Long ago, in a distant part of the galaxy, lies a planet called Cybertron, the homeworld of a race of shapeshifting robot-like aliens known as the Transformers. The Transformers have the ability to transform into any kind of vehicle or inanimate object, allowing them to drive, fly, and swim over long distances. The planet Cybertron itself is rich in a resource called Energon, which is the lifeblood of all life on Cybertron.
After an arduous war against their enemies, the Quintessons, the Transformers entered a golden age of exploration and prosperity, looking for habitable worlds to settle and colonize. Many Cybertronian prospectors and explorers have ventured out to see what lies beyond Cybertron and to inhabit brave new worlds.
Vector Prime was on the bridge of the exploration ship Excelsior after it had just come out of warp. He was sitting in a chair as Captain Freehorn was issuing orders to the bridge crew, as the ship was slowing down after coming out of warp. The ship had only just departed Cybertron just 20 cycles ago. For Vector Prime, it felt much longer than that, but perhaps that was just the transwarp jumps that might have been affecting his chronometer due to the intricacies of traveling through Unspace.
That... or he was starting to get rusty again.
A robot around 14 feet in height walked up to the old bot. The bot was none other than Captain Freehorn himself. He was with the Cybertonian Exploration Guild. The Exploration Guild was established on the ideas and principles of exploring space beyond Cyberton and its two moons, to boldly go where no bot has gone before. The primary purpose of the guild is to seek out new, potentially habitable planets for Transformers to start living on.
"Vector Prime, sir, we've just come out of warp," Freehorn said, standing tall before the old man—er—bot. "The crew is in high spirits today."
"..."
"Vector Prime?"
"Hm? Oh... yes, forgive me, I spaced out for a moment," Vector Prime said as he stood up, his gears clicking, joints ratcheting, gyros whirring until he stood at his maximum height of 17 feet (5.2 meters). "There haven't been any problems during the warp, right?"
"Not a single one. The ship sailed smoothly," Freehorn said.
The main screen panel lit up, and there stood a (mostly) blue planet being orbited by a small moon. The planet in question is a little smaller than Cybertron itself, and it has a single moon. Vector Prime looked at the planet and rubbed his chin. The order to launch probes around the system was given, and multiple probes were launched.
"Hmmm... Captain Freehorn, that planet over there, what about that one?" Vector Prime said. "This planet looks like a good start."
Freehorn nods and turns to his science officer, Skyfire. "Skyfire, send a few probes down to the planet. I want accurate readings on that planet. Launch a full-range scan while you are at it." "Vector Prime's got interest in this one."
"Give me a second, Captain..." Skyfire said as he turned some knobs and pressed a few buttons. He looked over his console. "Probes out, launching scan... now."
Freehorn turned to Chief Engineer Shocktop. "Shocktop, how is the ship holding up?"
"The ship is doing just fine. Engineering is doing a maintenance sweep of the ship. A few fires broke out, but we got them under control," Shocktop said. "I'd say that we're still in top condition."
"Good," Freehorn said. "Well, Sky? What do you have?"
"Let's see... I'm getting a high mineral concentration in several key spots on the planet. The atmosphere is capable of supporting life by itself, and it's not too hazardous for Cybertronians. Probes seem to be picking up lifeforms, but they are scattered all over the planet," Skyfire said. "I'm also getting Energon readings as well."
"How much Energon is there?" Freehorn asks.
"Well... according to the probes... there's a lot of it... in fact, the readings are off the scale. I'm getting significant readings on the planet's surface, but I'm sure that there must be underground deposits!" Skyfire said, "If these readings are accurate and consistent, I think we just struck gold with this planet! I hypothesize that there is practically enough Energon to fuel all of Cybertron for millions of years!"
The crew on the bridge was looking excited. Vector Prime looked at the planet and stared at it.
'This planet... It's the same one from my vision.' Vector thought. 'Primus... I am never one to question your judgment, but this planet in front of me... is there some significant role that this planet plays in our future?'
"Vector Prime, we're ready to make a landing on the planet on your orders," Freehorn said. "Just say the word, and we'll make preparations for planetfall."
Vector looked at Freehorn and looked back up at the planet. Perhaps it would be better to land on the planet, Vector thought to himself. This was the planet the visions had shown him, and now he needed to know why he kept getting visions of this planet.
"Very well then, make preparations. I shall be in my quarters, meditating," Vector Prime said to Freehorn. The Prime turned around and walked away from the bridge as Freehorn started giving orders.
Meanwhile... in some other part of the galaxy...
A prisoner transport ship dubbed the Nytmayr was ferrying prisoners towards a desolate prison planet for disposal. Within this ship are hardened criminals, cannibals, murderers, and all kinds of filth that lurked in the shadows of Cybertron. Among them, in cell 78E is a giant transformer by the name of Overlord Gigatron.
Overlord Gigatron is a huge, towering behemoth of a Transformer, standing at a height of 65 ft (20m) in height, down on his knees. Gigatron is an ancient Transformer warrior who once fought as a gladiator, fighting a plethora of beasts brought over from other planets and other Cybertronian warriors before he was made a member of the Cybertronian High Guard, an elite unit of Cybertron's military forces. He was a key figure of the Quintesson War and was partially the reason Cybertron won the war against the Quintessons.
Now he was on a prison ship heading for a lifeless rock as punishment for his crimes against his fellow Transformers and for committing unspeakable acts that violate the core principles of Primus himself. He was surrounded by several guns trained on him, all while he was bound with magnetic restraints and a laser field. All of his weapon systems were locked down, leaving him with no access to his internal weapons factory. He heard the door open, and a medium-sized Transformer walked in. This was Rage, a tank-type Transformer brandishing a Minicon shaped like a tank on his right arm, serving as his weapon of choice.
"Ah... chief security officer Rage," Gigatron said as he looked at Rage. "I wasn't expecting a visit from you."
"Shut your trap, prisoner 627," Rage said. "I'm just making sure that you convicts are behaving well."
"Why of course I'm on my best behavior, yeeesss..." Gigatron said. "But don't think for a moment that you can hold me for long, Rage."
Rage pointed his gun at Gigatron. The gun powers up instantly. "Shut it, Gigatron. In case you haven't noticed, you're in no position to make any threats. Your weapons are on lockdown. This room was made especially for cases like yours. Pulse laser sentry guns with laser sights, cyclotron fields powerful enough to knock you into stasis lock, a laser containment system to make you feel a little more claustrophobic, and some of the most state-of-the-art security systems in existence."
Gigatron smiled and began to chuckle. "You think all of this will keep me in check? Do you even know why some Cybertronians call me Overlord? I could bust out of this prison cell whenever I want."
"Nice try, but I'm not intimidated," Rage said. "We'll soon be at our destination soon enough, so enjoy the ride while you can, convict."
Rage turned around and walked away. The door closed behind Rage. Gigatron scoffed at the arrogance that the security officer showed.
'Imbecile... he has no idea who he is dealing with...' Gigatron thought. 'I have killed far more than what the courts think I have. I have crushed our enemies, taken their planets, their people, their resources, and made them my own for the glory of Cybertron. So what if I caused or participated in a few genocides? So what if I redirected a meteor to a more populated planet? So what if I killed a fellow Transformer or whatnot? It's not like they had any value to Cybertron. Some of those Transformers refused to obey my orders, and I wasn't going to tolerate insubordination. If not for my part in the Quintesson War, we would have been slaves to those disgusting organics.'
Gigatron smiled as a sinister thought came to mind. 'The fools have no idea what I have planned for them.' Gigatron thought. 'Yeeeesss... soon... very soon, they'll have other problems to worry about...'
The Excelsior landed on the planet smoothly. The ramp came down, and multiple Transformers were beginning to exit the ship. Among them was a special type of Transformer known as Omnicons. The Omnicons were a special type of Transformer made to handle and process raw Energon into more stable forms, such as an Energon Star or an Energon cube. They were like Energon miners, only more specialized and carrying better equipment. One such Omnicon was called Strongarm, and he was talking with Signal Flare, another Omnicon.
"Hey, Flare, you think we might find more Energon on this planet?" Strongarm asked.
"What, like an underground vein?" Signal Flare asked. "We'd just touched down on the planet. We haven't even done a full survey. Calm your gears, will you?"
"I know that, but still, there's Energon here! Lots of it!" Strongarm said. "I just can't wait to start mining Energon!"
"You'll get your chance to mine Energon," Vector Prime said, walking up to the two Omnicons. "But remember, patience is more rewarding than haste."
The two Omnicons turned to Vector Prime.
"Oh, Vector Prime, sir! We uh... didn't know you were done meditating," Strongarm said. "We'll just uh... get to work on setting up a base camp."
Vector Prime watched as Strongarm transformed into a jeep with a crane boom attached to it. Signal Flare transformed into a truck with a radar dish mounted on it. The two Omnicons drove off. Vector Prime watched as the other Omnicons and the crew of the Excelsior were getting to work on setting up a base camp with the equipment they had. He took a breath in and breathed out.
'This planet feels fresh... like it's bursting with life...' Vector thought.
"Careful with that. It's highly sensitive equipment..."
Vector turned around to see a couple of Omnicons carrying around a device that he immediately recognized as of great importance.
It was a miniaturized version of the Well of All Sparks. Every established colony has one for self-sufficiency. It was standard protocol for all exploration ships to carry at least one miniature replica of the Well of All Sparks. This is to ensure that any new Transformers can be born on a faraway planet by infusing a new spark from this well into a new protoform body comprised of living metal. Once the well is deployed, it will create new sparks that will be infused in future transformers.
Standard colonization procedures require that the habitable planet have an environment capable of sustaining Cybertronian life, the presence of Energon (or resources that can be converted into Energon), and a Space Bridge to connect the colony to Cybertron. Only then will the colony be formally established.
Vector Prime watched as Skyfire was giving out orders to the crew.
"Remember everyone, we are here to explore the planet, which means we need to take readings on both the ground and the air," Skyfire said. "Red Alert, you lead the ground team. I'll be in charge of the air team. Now, as for the sea team... Waverider, think I can count you for that?"
"You got it, Sky." The aquanaut transformer said.
"Good, we're all going to get samples, maybe look for some Energon so the Omnicons can get to work on mining some Energon," Skyfire said. "Just make your observations and report back to me via the comm link. Under no circumstances are we to interact with any of the local wildlife here. We don't want to upset the balance here. Are we clear on this?"
"Sir, yes, sir!" The Transformers said.
"Alright, we roll out!" Skyfire said. "TRANSFORM!"
He jumped into the air, his body beginning to shift. His head was covered by a piece that enclosed his head, his arms tucked in, revealing thruster nozzles as his legs morphed into the back of a small shuttle, giving him the appearance of a small shuttle. The other Transformers began to transform into various vehicles and move out from base camp as the security detail secured the perimeter.
Vector Prime looked up into the sky.
'This planet is peaceful...' he thought. 'I hope that this world remains peaceful... and that our coming here does not affect this world.'
"Hey, Vector Prime, what should we name this planet?" Freehorn came up to him. "I was thinking something like uh... I don't know... Primus, you know, in honor of the Creator. I was also thinking about another name, but uh... I'm not good with names—"
"Earth," Vector Prime said.
"Earth?" Freehorn looked confused. "Where did you get that name from?"
"It just... came to me," Vector admitted. "It came to me in a dream... a vision."
"Huh... Earth... yeah... I guess that name isn't so bad, coming from a Prime like you, Vector," Freehorn said. "I'll go ahead and send word to the Guild."
Prison Ship
Rage was making his way to the bridge when the ship began to shake. He tossed into a wall and heard klaxons going off. He got up.
"All hands to general quarters! All hands to general quarters! Battle stations! Battle stations!"
Rage started to sprint into action as many Transformers were moving about in the ship. He made it to the bridge where Captain Junkkill was.
"Captain! What's going on?!"
"Raiders, Rage, Raiders," Junkkill turned to Rage. "An unidentified ship just showed up on our radar screens like a Ravager out of the Inferno! I think it might be what was left of Gigatron's followers!"
The ship shook from an impact.
"Captain! We're losing shields!"
"Keep the shields up! Divert any unallocated power to the shields!" Junkkill said. "Rage, be ready in case they decide to board us!"
The ship attacking the Nytmayr was a huge warship named the Dagon. On the bridge of the ship was a giant green Transformer with huge claws and a scorpion-like tail with a purple Energon stinger attached to it. His name is "Scorponok" Zarak, a mighty warrior who controls a legion of savage Terrocon warriors with a strong thirst for oil and Energon. A transformer by the name of Havoc came up to Scorponok.
"Are you sure that Nightbird can get the job done?" Havoc asked. "That ship is tough. We can't keep blasting away at it forever, not while its shields are up at full capacity. We won't be able to board it until the shields are down."
"Nightbird will succeed in her task. Send the signal to her at once," Scorponok said.
"Hmph. Very well," Havoc said, pulling out a device. He tapped a button on it.
Back on the prison ship, a sleek, agile female transformer with her mouth covered by a mask heard a message. The message was encrypted, and it began decrypting the message as it came in.
The time has come. Sabotage the ship and free our comrades. Overlord Gigatron shall be free from his prison. Go swiftly, Nightbird.
'It is time...' Nightbird thought.
She appeared out of the shadows of a corridor and made her way into engineering. A pair of golden sai appeared on her forearms. She took them of threw them at a console, frying the console with an electric shock. The bots turned around and saw her before pulling their guns out.
"Over there! Shoot at her!" One of the bots said before they started firing at her.
She pulled out a nunchaku and used it to deflect incoming energy bolts. She rushed right up to the first bot and knocked the gun out of his hand before smacking him across the face a few times with the nunchaku. She stows the nunchucks and pulls out an energy short sword, stabbing the Transformer in the spark chamber. She pulled out her blade and looked at the other bots, charging towards them and killing them with a single slash.
The engineers fell, their bodies turning gray as their sparks were extinguished.
One of the panels on her right forearm retracted to reveal a wire with a connector pin on it. She pulled the wire out and connected it to the console. Another panel on her left forearm flipped out to reveal a computer. She began to type a series of commands into the computer she was connected to.
'Lord Gigatron... I hereby free you and all our comrades... may the ones who held you prisoner pay for their insolence!' She thought as she input one last command.
Gigatron saw the sentry guns shut down, followed by the laser field, and then the lights went out. His bindings came undone due to a lack of power. He smirked as he received a notification from his own computer that his weapon systems were no longer locked down. He ripped his bindings off and stood tall. A double-barreled cannon flips out from his right abdomen, and a six-tube missile launcher extends from his left abdomen. The cannon begins firing an energy blast as eight missiles are launched and hit the door, blowing it clean off, setting off several alarms. He walked out and saw the other cell doors opening. He could hear the prisoners chanting his name.
"GIGATRON! GIGATRON! GIGATRON!"
"It is time, my friends! My comrades! Our freedom awaits! Kill all who stand between us and our destiny to conquer the universe!" Gigatron roared.
The prisoners roared as prison guards started to pour in and started shooting and attacking the prisoners. The prisoners clashed with the guards, punching them and taking their weapons, killing them with whatever improvised weapons they had on hand. Gigatron saw some guards approaching him.
"Set blasters to maximum power! Fire!"
The guards started shooting at him. Gigatron laughed as he began to walk towards them.
"Those guns are useless against me!" Gigatron yelled as he grabbed one of the guards and thrust his hand so hard that it went straight through the guard. He tossed the guard down into the abyss as the energy bolts bounced off his body. Gigatron throws a left hook, the jet on his left shoulder launching off his arm. The Jet hits the other guard and sends him right into a wall, the jet crushing his body. Gigatron grabs the third guard and crushes his head. He dropped the lifeless body as the jet came back to him. He caught the jet and reattached it to his left shoulder. He began laughing maniacally as he looked up.
"Sir, the prisoners are loose! They're overwhelming the cell blocks!" A bridge officer said.
The ship was rocked by an explosion.
"Damnit! We've lost shields!"
"Boarding tethers have latched onto the ship! Captain, they're boarding us!"
Rage stood next to his men as they took up defensive positions around the airlock. He could hear the sound of raptors and jaguars on the other side of the door. The door was being cut open with a torch.
"This is it, men. This is what we've trained for..." Rage said.
The door was blasted open. A storm of robotic jaguars with energy cannons on their backs and tails, with a mace, followed by raptor-like transformers with bladed tails. Several beetle-like transformers started coming in as well, with drills made out of energy.
"FOR CYBERTRON!" Rage yelled.
He and his men began lighting up the corridor with their blasters. The Terrorcons were getting picked off as they were making their way through the airlock. Some of the Terrocons have changed into their robot modes, holding plenty of weapons on them as they begin to swarm them. A Battle Ravage pounced onto Rage, knocking the transformer down. He blasts the beast's head off. He pushed the beast off of him and got up to see Scorponok coming through. More Terrocons began to flood in along with actual Transformers.
He started firing on Scorponok, blasting away at him with his tank gun. Scorponok wasn't fazed by the weapon fire. Scorponok began running at Rage at full throttle. A pair of green blades covered his claws. Scorponok ran all the way to Rage and swept him aside as though he were an afterthought. The Transformer was flung quite a few feet.
Rage tried to get up, only to get grabbed by Scorponok.
"Any last words before you die?" Scorponok asked.
Rage laughed. "Yeah... I got some last words for your slagging exhaust port... I'll see you in the Pit..."
Rage screamed in pain as Scorponok's energy stinger went right through him, terminating him. Scorponok dropped the bot. Scorponok turned around as he heard footsteps. He saw Gigatron holding his Giga Blaster in his hands.
"I see you got rid of that nuisance," Gigatron said. "It's good to see you again, Zarak."
"As it is good to see your visage, lord Gigatron," Scorponok kneeled before Gigatron. "What shall we do with this ship and its crew, as well as the other prisoners?"
"Hmm... we'll take the prisoners on board our ship along with our formerly imprisoned comrades. We'll get some use out of them," Gigatron said. "As for the ship... let it burn. We don't want anyone on Cybertron coming after us, now do we?"
"As you command, lord Gigatron," Scorponok said as he stood again. "Havoc, ready the side guns. We're destroying this ship. We're also bringing along some... new members to our crew."
Gigatron, along with the prisoners, boarded the Dagon. The ship broke away from the prison ship and blasted it to atoms, leaving no trace of it as it fled the combat area. Gigatron made it to the bridge of the ship, surrounded by his most loyal followers. They looked upon him. He smirked.
"Well done, my comrades in arms. Thanks to you, your comrades, and me are free again, and we have some new members added to our army," Gigatron said. "Plot a new course and get us away from that wreckage."
"Sir, we just intercepted a transmission," a bridge communications officer said.
"What? Trace the source of the transmission... and play it on speakers," Gigatron said.
"Roger, tracing the source... playing it on speakers."
"... Earth? Really? That's what you're calling this new planet?"
"Ok, look, I know, it doesn't sound as cool as Velocitron or Eukaris, but it's got a nice ring to it."
"Listen, Captain Freehorn, just tell me why in the Inferno should the guild be investing in this planet's colonization?"
"There's Energon."
"Look, every planet, moon, asteroid, or whatever has Energon. You're going to have to be more exact. Like, how much Energon are we talking here?"
"Tons of it," Freehorn said. "Our Energon readings went off the charts, and that's just all the Energon on the surface. Primus knows how much Energon there is under the planet's surface! It might just be enough to fuel all of Cybertron for mega cycles!"
"Ok, ok, I get it, just send me all the data you have on this planet Earth, and we'll think of something."
"Lord Gigatron! I've located the source of the transmission," The communications officer said. "I have its coordinates locked."
"Send the coordinates into the navigation computer," Gigatron said as he sat down. "Navigation, plot a course for this planet Earth at once. It's about time we see if this planet truly is rich in Energon."
"Hold on a minute, Overlord Gigatron," Havoc spoke up. "If there's a ship on that planet and these settlers discover our ship, there is a good chance that they might send word to Cybertron."
"Then the answer is obvious, Havoc," Gigatron said. "We kill them, take control of this planet, and make it ours, for we are conquerors. Such is our prerogative."