Transformers: The Lost Light

[Dark Silver]

Transformers:
More than Meets the Eye

Cybertron - once a glittering, gleaming jewel in the Heavens, a shining mecha-planet whose inhabitants built a Civilization who spanned the stars - homeworld to the Transformers, and a lifeless husk, a shell of it's former glory and self.

After 4 million years of war between Autobots and Decepticons...the planet was given up for lost, drained of energy, unable to support the once thriving civilization. Then the Chaos Event occured, and Cybertron was reborn. The planet, in the violent energies swirling at the heart of the Matrix, was restored to it's most primal state, all trace of the once great Civilization - it's towering cities and wonders - were erased as the planet Reset itself.

Megatron was presumed dead, and Optimus Prime himself, lost.

Then the NAILS began to return home.

When Cybertron reformated, the planet sent a Signal out amoungst the stars, a simple message to all Cybertronians - "Come Home". And come home they did, in vast numbers, in starships of every make and form - the Cybertronian's who never chose a side, or left either side in disgust of what they had become, began to return to their wild, untamed homeworld. Prowl, Head of Autobot Logistics, dubbed them "NAILS" or Non-affiliated Indiginous Lifeforms, and they would no longer stand for the strife which plagued their world.

Weeks passed, and Optimus Prime returned, from the wilderness, bearing with him the drained, empty Matrix of Leadership. He showed his Autobots the Matrix, now split in perfect half, and resigned his role as Prime, becoming Orion Pax once more. He turned the halves of the Matrix over to those who would wish to Lead in his stead - Rodimus and Bumblebee, and left a Cybertron which had become Hostile towards him and what he represented.

After careful examination, it was found within the Matrix itself, was a map - Rodimus believed it was a map to the fabled "Knights of Cybertron". With this conviction behind him, Rodimus (occassionally calling himself Rodimus Prime), obtained a Ship, and announced his intentions - a Quest to find the fabled homeworld of the Knights, Cybertopia, and bring back the knowledge needed to restore Cybertron to the glittering jewel of the Universe.





Crew of the Lost Light:

Rodimus - Nominal Leader of the Lost Light. One time Matrix holder, believes himself a Prime. Brave, bold, Charistmatic, easily bored, and believes his own hype.

Ultra Magnus - Second in Command of the Lost Light, Duly Appointed Enforcer of the Tyrest Accords. Takes everything very seriously. Smiled once, has regretted it ever since.

Drift - Ex-Decepticon. Third in command (suppossedly), a big fan of Rodimus, writes his speeches. Has become rather spiritual after a brush with death.

Red Alert - Ship's Security Chief, best ears in the business, can hear a pin drop in Proxima Centauri in his sleep.

[General Havoc]

Hrm...

What would and would not be appropriate, I wonder?

[Dark Silver]

Basically put: The War is Over, the Autobots technically won, and the "Decepticons" as they are, are contained on the only city left on Cybertron...city being a very LOOSE term for what is essentially the wreckage of a research station/weapons platform that crashed into the planet over where Iacon used to be after the planet reformatted itself to a primal state.

It's going to be loosely based off the IDW comic book "Transformers: More than Meets the Eye" - but the story will NOT necessarily be a retelling of the comic, but will be the Ship's journey and it's "day to day" of the crew, a slice of life sorta thing with the appropriate action and fun that comes when you get a bunch of the most feared and dangerous race in the known Universe together in one ship.

So, Autobots, former Decepticons, anyone who ever heard the the Old Legends of the Knights of Cybertron or the Guiding Hand and got caught up on Rodimus' speech about honor, and glory, and the "Old Days Before the War" could be able to be on board.

I'll be posting more Abbreviated Crew Profiles later - the ship will have about 200 Cybertronian's on board, all told before it sets off on it's quest (though obviously some will be cannon fodder and not fleshed out very well)

(Edit because I'm a idiot and left out a NOT)

[LadyTevar]

This is gonna have to wait til After England for Nit and I. When we're back, we'll discuss Characters.

[Dark Silver]

Anyone else besides, Nitram, Tev and Havoc?


Just want to know before I finish off the Universe History to get everyone on the same page

[frigidmagi]

I'm kinda swamped on school work. Please check in at the end of the month.

Also did anyone else think the NAILS were self righteous hypocrite peices of shit?

"Oh Megatron was trying to conqear the galaxy but you're just as bad for fighting back!"

Frankly the NAILS should have been a minority.

[Dark Silver]

They should have been, but apparently they NAILS were also made up of former Autobots and Decepticons who grew tired of the War.


Frankly, I think those were the worst NAILS of all, hypocrites.

I'll work on the history section so everyone has a timeline to work off of, and can be on the same page (either that, or read the IDW Transformers comics either or).

[General Havoc]

So the question is, can I drive everyone mad with Hornet in this setting?

[Dark Silver]

I encourage it.

[rhoenix]

I'm cautiously interested, as long as this wouldn't be a grimdark game. I deal with that enough at work currently.

[Dark Silver]

There will be periods of Seriousness, and maybe occassionally some Grimness - but that will be called upon by whatever may be transpiring in the scene.


I have no intention to make this a GrimDark tale of Grimdarkness. Too much of that going around as it is.

I want this to be a fun adventure RP. Think about it, you're on a Quest to find the Knights of Cybertron in order to bring Cybertron back to it's golden age, and exploring the Universe in the interum.

I assure you, I'll keep the grimness down to a bare minimum. If things get to out of hand, please don't hesitate to tell me so.

[Dark Silver]

History of The Transformers
Not Yet Complete

12 million BCE
According to legend, the very first Cybertronian realizes he can transform. Cybertronian religion says that the first Transformers were created very early on by the Guiding Hand, placing the origin of the species here.

In the beginning, there was Primus, The First Light.

The Great Mechanical God strode the Cosmos, looking over creation, seeking Knowledge and Order.

Eventually, Primus saw the Universe lacking, and found the planet that would be later called Cybertron.

Upon this world, the god began his Great Works, cataloguing all knowledge within his purview, growing more powerful and wise by the second, until a Great Pain came upon him. The God of Order bellowed in his anguish, and eventually - he multiplied.

Born from Great God - One Became Five. These Five Great Beings were as Brothers, and were known as Primus (LightBearer and Life Giver), Adaptus (Blessed with an Infinity of Shapes), Mortalius (the Deathbringer). Solomus (Wisdom Incarnate) and Epistemus (Knowledge Personified). These five became a remote and nuturing presence on the Miracle Planet of Cybertron, and populated it with a wave of their hands.

Under their reign came the First Golden Age of Cybertron which was shattered when Mortilus believed that the Guiding Hand should become a fist against the rest of the universe. As Mortilus stood against Primus, all of Cybertron became divided in a conflict that saw the planet shudder and its first moon being ripped asunder. The Death-bringer was ultimately destroyed in the struggle but the conflict left the remaining members of the Guiding Hand mortally wounded.

Primus who was near death went into the heart of Cybertron where he re-integrated himself to the planet and became Vector Sigma that was the source of all sentience. Solomus was trapped by Mortilus into a crystal prison but the wise god managed to re-arrange it into the Creation Matrix that not only served as a connection to Vector Sigma but provided wisdom to future generations of Transformers. Both Epistemus and Adaptus were not as lucky as Mortilus had stripped both bare. Epistemus was transformed into a brain module whilst Adaptus became a transformation cog. Prior to their death, they offered their designs to future generations to utilize both their intellect and functionality to face the rigors of their environment. With Mortilus's destruction, death itself was gone and this allowed the sparks of Cybertronians to burn perpetually, rendering them functionally ageless. After this period, the first inheritors of the Guiding Hand became the Knights of Cybertron who were given the gifts of sentience, wisdom, intellect, change and immortality whereupon they went to spread peace across the universe.

10 million BCE
Also according to legend, there is a war among the gods and they only survive by becoming the transformation cog, the brain module, the Matrix, and Vector Sigma. The Cybertronians gain wisdom, immortality, and transforming skills, and form the Knights of Cybertron. The Knights turn Cybertron into a paradise before leaving the planet to spread enlightenment elsewhere.

With the loss of the Knights' benign influence, Cybertron descends into war for untold years. The conflict is eventually brought to an end by Nova Prime, who discovers Omega Supreme and with his aid, revives the ways of peace. A suggestion from Tailgate convinces Nova Prime that other planets are deserving of the gift of peace he has brought Cybertron. the Cybertronian empire expands, with the Primal Vanguard serving as offworld peacekeepers.

~ 8 million BCE
Nova Prime reveals his true dark intentions, having conspired with scientist Jhiaxus to develop a process that allows sentient minds to be merged into one in pursuit of peace via the elimination of all will save his own. This process yields Monstructor. While Omega Supreme is occupied battling the beast, Nova Prime and Jhiaxus depart Cybertron in the first Ark to begin their work, with notable crew members Galvatron, Cyclonus, Straxus, Grindcore and Scourge. Rebirth. Omega defeats Monstructor and locks him away in an inter-dimensional prison, then entrusts guardianship of the last remaining Metrotitan to Dai Atlas.

Nova Prime's Ark is subsequently lost in the Benzuli Expanse, transported to the Dead Universe. All aboard perish and are resurrected as undead creatures to serve the will of the D-Void.

6 million BCE
Cybertron is in a period of time known as the Interregnum. Delta Magnus of the Primal Vanguard protects the Matrix of Leadership until a new bearer can be found. An Intimate Beheading Cybertron suffers from a lack of energy in the wake of Nova's expansion program, and tensions emerge. Apartheid exists against those who were constructed instead of forged. This will eventually end but there will still be prejudice.

A corrupt Senate is formed to govern Cybertron, with Nominus Prime as Matrix-bearer. A policy of "functionalism" is instituted, with robots expected to stick to a single job determined by their alternate mode; monoformers, those without alt mode, face shape-hate. The Senate use the sinister network of secret facilities known as The Institute to brainwash dissenters, and subject criminals to a head-and-hand replacement ritual known as Empurata. Aliens call the Cybertronians "Autobots": an insult, meaning "automatons". Megatron, a lowly miner who believes in changing the planet with non-violent actions, is left embittered after being subjected to police brutality. Police officer Orion Pax is moved by his treatise and confronts the Senate, even deciding to 'reclaim' the slur Autobot as short for "autonomous robot", but he is ignored. At the same time, some Senators make a grab for more power by ordering an attack on Nominus Prime, using it as an excuse to obtain the Matrix of Leadership and initiate the Clampdown.

The Clampdown has caused tension and dissent across Cybertron. The Decepticon movement starts, basing themselves off samizdat writings from Megatron, and the miner is quietly sent into exile offworld. As part of a complicated plan to eliminate the threat the Decepticons pose to their social order, Senator Proteus promises to recognize the Decepticons as a legitimate political entity if 10,000 of them register as such, actually a method of gathering names for future brainwashing. With the discovery that Nominus's Matrix is a fake, the Senate have him killed and put the endgame of their plan into play, intending to stage bombing that will be pinned on the Decepticons. The scheme is foiled by a small team led by Orion Pax, but as a repercussion, his friend Senator Shockwave is brainwashed and subjected to empurata by The Institute. The Senate's head of security, Sentinel, is installed as the new Prime.

4.5 million years ago
The Senate and their thuggish police force spark a riot when shutting down an energon-mining operation, one of many the Senate have automated at the expense of the miners. The miner who starts the riot is Megatron and he escapes in a shuttle and joins the illegal gladiatorial games in the city of Kaon. Megatron takes over the games and is approached by Soundwave, an emissary of Senator Ratbat to cause terror throughout Cybertron. Megatron unites his gladiators under the Decepticon banner and arranges their 'capture' by Sentinel Prime's forces. Once captured, Starscream and Soundwave's forces massacre the Senate, and release the Decepticons from prison so they can overrun the security force's HQ. Megatron kills Sentinel Prime, and the Decepticons occupy Kaon. The Autobots withdraw to Iacon. Zeta, a former disciple of Senator Shockwave and friend to Orion Pax, is chosen as the New Prime.

The Decepticons destroy a popular racetrack, putting Blurr out of the spotlight when Zeta Prime orders the races suspended. Blurr gets caught in Autobot/Decepticon crossfire, and Orion Pax, convinces him to turn his self-confidence to the Autobot cause.

Zeta Prime begins draining energy from his own citizens for the fight against the Decepticons and other insurgents, causing Orion Pax to turn on him and forge an alliance with Megatron to overthrow him. Megatron betrays him and declares himself ruler of Cybertron, but Orion discovers the long-lost true Matrix and is turned into Optimus Prime by its power, and in turn rallies an army against him. The Decepticons are driven out of Iacon by the new Autobot army, and the war escalates further.

Optimus Prime turns down Megatron's first and only invitation for an Autobot surrender.

650,000 BCE
Shockwave realises Cybertron will soon die and begins planning Regenesis, distilling energon into a catalyst which he then launches at various planets, including prehistoric Earth.

10,000 years ago
The Dynobots attack a Decepticon-held Energon silo in Sub-Sector-Nine.

~8390 BCE
Shockwave openly leaves the Decepticons to begin stabilizing his Regenesis planets. However, he is followed by the Dynobots, out for revenge; and on Earth — the first of the planets — they engage him in combat. While he defeats them, he is deactivated by a failsafe set by Grimlock, as the Dynobots' ship triggers a volcanic eruption which buries all six in what would later become Eureka, Nevada.

Megatron, on discovering Shockwave's absence, assigns Bludgeon to investigate his projects Spotlight: Shockwave — and Soundwave to watch over Bludgeon.

A Decepticon named Deadlock leaves Turmoil's command when he feels disillusioned by what the civil war had become, and he stumbles across a third, neutral faction of Transformers.

603 BCE
The Predators put down local resistance in the Skomiloch Territories. They remain while Skyquake rules a mini-empire there.

~1550 CE
Thunderwing realises that Cybertron is going to be uninhabitable very soon. Unfortunately, he uses himself as a test subject for the solution and, driven mad, he ends up destroying the planet even faster. Shortly after Thunderwing's rampage, Soundwave uses Bombshell to take control of Beachcomber. Beachcomber attempts to assassinate Blaster, leaving him adrift in space. The Decepticons began a massive offensive against the demoralized Autobots. It's all for naught anyway as the planet is soon abandoned, a lifeless, radiation-saturated wreck.

1984
Soundwave investigates Bludgeon's activities on Earth and is deactivated when Bludgeon, after some of Shockwave's Regenesis ore — which he calls "Ultra-Energon" — triggers the eruption of Mount St. Helens (4 years later than in the real world.)

Soundwave, Ravage and Laserbeak are excavated by Skywatch. Interest is taken in the cassettes, found in "robot mode," but Soundwave, in cassette player mode, is apparently discarded.

~1988
Ultra Magnus tracks the Decepticon criminal Scorponok to Nebulos, but despite damages, he escapes.

1997Alpha Trion slowly begins cleaning Cybertron's atmosphere.


2002
Current era of Transformer activity on Earth begins. Conspiracy theorists like Hunter O'Nion notice these machines after the Buchanan crop manifestations in Iowa.

2006
Shockwave's hand is discovered in an excavation in Nevada. News of the dig reaches the conspiracy theorists but is considered a fringe theory, the "paleo-purists".

2007
The Discovery of Ore 13 on Earth causes Starscream to accelerate the Decepticon Agenda on Earth, progressing to Phase 2 ahead of schedule. A human businessman stumbles on location of the Decepticon Base, and records images. He is then hunted by the Decepticons. After his computer is stolen by a teenage girl named Verity Carlo, she is picked up as a hitch hiker by Hunter D'Onion. Skywarp tracks the computer once it's turned on, and attacks the two humans. Rachet intervenes and saves the two, heading to a friend of Verity's who may be able to help them. The Decepticons track the Autobot and humans to the North Arizona town, only for Blitzwing to attack. Wheeljack, Sideswipe and Ironhide rescue the humans, and escort them back to the Autobot ship hidden beneath Lake Eerie.

The Autobots use the information on the laptop to find the location of the Decepticon base, and the humans convince the Autobots to allow them to help by spying on the base. Once inside the base, Verity stumbles upon Megatron in a communications room, ordering the incineration of Cybertron - if nessacry - to stop the recently reawakened Thunderwing.

The Autobots and humans leave the Decepticon base, Megatron not concerned with them, as he has arrived on Earth to put his house in order. Megatron arrives at the new Decepticon Base, which has already initiated Seige Mode, and proceeds to demand the fealty once more of his Decepticons. Starscream, empowered with Ore-13, attacks Megatron, thinking to defeat his commander and take his place as the Decepticon Ruler. Even so empowered, Megatron proves to powerful for Starscream. Megatron immediately calls for Phase 2 to begin on Earth.

The Autobots retreat to the Ark, to discover while they were away, Optimus Prime has arrived on Earth with back up, called there by Ironhide prior to Megatron's Arrival.


The Decepticons begin the destabilization of Earth's governments in a attempt to incite global war by use of Human Replicants - synthetic humanoids programmed to be loyal to the Decepticons - to spark a war in Eastern Europe. Optimus Prime and the Autobots intervene, managing to diffuse the distuation, and avert the calamity. Megatron and Optimus Prime clash in a hand to hand, and the Ore-13 empowered Megatron nearly kills Optimus Prime, who downloads his consciouness into his Trailer Unit - feigning death. The Autobots attempt to avenge their leader, only for Prime to restore himself to his proper body, and defeats Megatron by the Decepticon burn through the Ore-13 coursing through his fuel systems. Sunstreaker and Wheeljack are attacked by human forces enroute back to the Autobot base, and Sunstreaker - with his human passenger Hunter D'Onion, are presumed dead.

2008
In response to their defeat and the presence of Optimus Prime on Earth, Megatron accelerates the time table for Earth - believing the plant to have gone from a simple perifery conflict to the front line in the war, due to Ore-13. Megatron calls for Six Shot to obliterate the opposition.

The Autobots recover Sunstreaker's chassis from a human impound lot where it was taken affter the attack, and Rachet discovers it is merely a shell crafted to appear as Sunstreaker's alt-mode. Ironhide and Rachet, along with the humans Verity Carlo and Jimmy Pink, trace the company who manufactured the Fake-Sunstreaker shell, and investigate. Ironhide is killed during the investigation, when he saves the two humans from a trap set by a organization known as the Machination. Nightbeat investigates how the humans a) knew about the Autobots and b) how they were tracked. It is discovered that the humans had the location of the Ark-19 under survellaince for sometime, due to a homing chip in the computer Verity stole from the businessman in 2007. Nightbeat suggests moving the Ark to a new location, after deactivating the homing device.

Six Shot arrives on Earth and is unleashed on the Autobots by Megatron. While the Ark is being moved, Six Shot attacks. The ship is heavily damaged and crashes off the coast of Florida. The Autobots evacuate to Ark-32 in orbit and scuttle the Ark-19, while engaging Six Shot in Pensacola, Fl. All Autobots, except for Optimus Prime, shunt to the Ark-32, while Optimus stays behind to fight the Decepticon Phase Sixer. The US Air Force scrambles several aircraft with orders to carpet bomb the location of the fight - Six Shot is recalled by Megatron, while Optimus is retrieved by the Ark-32 via Orbital Shunt.

Hot Rod and Wheeljack, enroute to locate and retrieve Ironhide's chassis from a scrapyard, are attacked by Machination Agents, utilizing copies of Sunstreaker's body piloted by human "drivers". Wheeljack and Hot Rod manage to defeat the "Headmasters" and retrieve Ironhide's remains, Hard Head collects Wheeljack and Ironhide's corpse, while Hot Rod goes out in search of Sunstreaker and the Machination.

The Ark-32 leaves Earth's orbit, headed to the Autobot Penal Colony of Garrus-9, while the Decepticons fend off a assault by a group of dangerous Aliens known as the Reapers - eventually defeating them.

Nemesis Prime - a reforged and corrupt Nova Prime - and the long lost crew of the first Ark reveal their plots - attempting to merge their home universe with the alternate dimension known as the Dead Universe. The Autobots manage to defeat Nova Prime, with Optimus destroying the Fallen Prime and throwing his body into a Solar Pool on the world of Gorlam Prime near the Benzuli Expanse - where the portal to the Dead Universe was located.

2010
Starscream approaches the Autobots with a proposition - he will betray Megatron and lead him into an ambush which can see the Decepticon Leader captured - in exchange for ending the War. The Autobots accept, and are instead lead into an ambush - where the Decepticons reveal their newest weapon - the six Constructicons have been grafted with naiscent Combiner technology, creating the Devestator, perfected from the work of Cybertronian scientist Jhiaxus by the Insecticon Bombshell.

The Autobots are beaten - badly, and Optimus Prime is nearly killed with Megatron taking the Matrix from Prime's mangled chassis. The Autobots are then forced into another of Bombshell's newest scientific discoveries - a Space Bridge directly to Cybertron. The Autobots find the planet habitable - it's atmosphere free of the toxic pollutants and radiation which scourged the planet for the past millinia. Unfortunately, they find the planet has become host to the Swarm - the Decepticons failed attempts to create new Cybertronian Life that was represented in the Insecticons.

Meanwhile, on Earth, the Decepticons all out attack has allowed them to cause significant damage and take control of vast portions of the planet. Most major cities in North America has been attacked and are under Decepticon control. European Governments decide the best way to deal with the Decepticons is to take out their leadership, and send a nuclear weapon loaded in a C130 - actually the disguised Decepticon Octane.

The Autobots are rescued from Cybertron by Omega Supreme and Prime orders them back to Earth to stop the Decepticons.

On Earth, Starscream, confronts Megatron, having obtained support of many of the Earth-based Decepticons, and challenges him for rule of the Decepticon Forces. The return of the Autobots causes this confrontation to be held off, as the Decepticons and Autobots clash. A human sniper, using a gun based off of Shockwave's own weapon, shoots Megatron, ending the conflict.

The Decepticons leave Earth, and the Autobots are forced into hiding in the aftermath as Earth governments become vehemetly Anti-Cybertronian.

2011-2015

Autobots and Decepticons all over Earth have gone into hiding, as the agency known as Skywatch begins hunting them down. Utilizing anti-Cybertronian technology, Transformers have been placed into stasis lock and held as prisoners of war. Ultimately, Optimus Prime turns himself over to Skywatch as a prisoner in order to help ease some of the tensions between them and the Autobots.

Bumblebee is elected to lead the Autobots in Prime's absence, and Hot Rod decides to take those Autobots who would follow him, build a starship, and leave Earth. Rodimus locates other Decepticons who decide to do likewise, and they join him and the Autobots following him. These Decepticons include Swindle, Motormaster, Dead End, Dragstrip and Wildrider - Breakdown is under Skywatch Custody. The Wildrider and Dragstrip manage to locate Breakdown while he's being taken "on a ride" by Skywatch Commander "Spike" Witwicky, and free him from the Inhibitor that kept him in vehicle mode and docile.

Ultra Magnus arrives on Earth to obtain a sitrep from the Autobot Commander on the planet, discovers Optimus has turned over Leadership and surrendered himself to Skywatch, and that Hot Rod - now referring to himself as Rodimus Prime - plans on taking Autobots and leaving Earth. Ultra Magnus subborns command of the autobots under the Autobot Code and deputizes them temporarily as Enforcers of the Tyrest Accord under his direct command, and heads to the location of Hot Rod's ship. Once there Ultra Magnus attempts to arrest the Decepticons, and it is revealed that Swindle managed to modify the Stunticons with Combiner technology, creating the Third Decepticon Gestault - Menasor.

Skywatch releases Optimus Prime to act as their agent, and stop Menasor, which he does with the help of the Autobots. The Autobots enter into a alliance with Skywatch, to assist in tracking down and stopping Decepticon activity on Earth. It is during this time that on a "night out" Commander Witwicky hunts down the Constructicon Scrapper and terminates him.

It is soon discovered that the Combaticons - minus Swingle - have aligned themselves with North Korea, and the Predacons with China. Attempts to curtail their activities come to a near halt and become complicated when the President of the US declares any country using Cybertronian Assistance is using WMDs. This is further complicated when satellite recon is released to News Outlets showing the Autobots backed by US Military Personel fighting the Combaticons and Predacons near China's border.

As Bumblebee goes to make a speech to a group of reporters - attempting to relieve the tension and hopefully make peace with Humanity - he is shot with a weapon constructed out of Megatron's former body. Anti-Transformer sentiments on the planet grow, and more of the Megatron-look-a-like guns pop up all over the world - eventually shown to be a ploy by the Decepticons to assist in the destruction of the Autobots and a renewed assault on Earth.

Megatron himself, in a new body, arrives on Earth and begins to attack the Autobots and hunt down Optimus Prime. Eventually the Decepticon Leader is defeated and captured - just as they receive a message of a impending attack on Cybertron itself. The Autobots split into two teams - many going with Optimus on board Omega Supreme's rocket, while Bumblebee, Prowl, Jazz and several others remain on Earth to clean up.

On Cybertron the Cybertronian Galvatron - former disciple of Nemesis Prime has gathered a Army and intends to insert the Heart of Darkness - actually a energy source from the "Dead universe" into Vector Sigma, which would destroy Cybertron and stop the merging of the Dead Universe with the Living Universe. In actuality, the Heart of Darkness would convert Vector Sigma, and Cybertron as a whole into a planet-sized Inter-dimensional Portal, allowing a creature known as the D-Void entrance, and the eventual destruction of the Living Universe. Optimus Prime and Rodimus - temporarily bearing the Matrix of Leadership in his chest after retrieving it from the Decepticon Asteroid - manages to stop Galvatron, and Optimus restores Cybertron by inserting the Matrix into Vector Sigma.

On Earth - it is discovered that Commander Witwicky aligned himself with Swindle, utilizing Decepticon and Cybertronian technology, in a attempt to double cross all the Cybertronians on the planet, and eliminate them all. Jazz informs the Joint Chiefs of the Autobots decision to terminate their alliance, and the Skywatch base is destroyed after all human personnel are evacuated. Spike Witwicky becomes a fugitive.

2016
Cybertron has been reformatted into it's most primal state - the remains of the Kima Station, a orbiting research facility and weapons platform, acts as the only city on Cybertron where Transformers may gather, safe from the devestation and untamed wildness of Primal Cybertron.

Upon Reformat, Cybertron itself sent out a signal to all Cybertronians - "The War is over, come home". And so it was - hundreds of Cybertronians returning to their homeworld every day, to find it radically different from what it was. The Autobots attempted to greet them, only to find themselves met with disdain.

Autobot Command remained in control of the planet, but tensions rose daily. It was decided that all Decepticons on cybertron would be fitted with I/D Chips - Inhibitor and Detonation chips that would deactivate the Decepticons Transformation Cogs and their innate weapons and abilities. These devices were controlled by a special remote created by Wheeljack and Perceptor, and held by Bumblebee.

Three weeks after what has become known as the Chaos Event - Optimus Prime is discovered in the wilds by a Aerialbot Patrol, and is brought to Iacon, holding the empty Matrix of Leadership. As tensions with the NAILS - non-aligned Cybertronians rise, Optimus Prime gives a speech, stating he will give up his position as Prime, as long as the Autobots may remain. He then turns over the Matrix - one half to Bumblebee, and the other to Rodimus, and leaves Cybertron, declaring himself once more to be Orion Pax, and a exile from his homeworld.

[General Havoc]

I'm cautiously interested, as long as this wouldn't be a grimdark game. I deal with that enough at work currently.

If I play Hornet, how Grimdark do you really think things can get?

[rhoenix]

If I play Hornet, how Grimdark do you really think things can get?

That's a fair point - Hornet is pretty much the anti-grimdark concentrate.

[Dark Silver]

In the Grim Dark Grimdarkness of the grimdark future. There is only......Hornet The Grimdark Beacon of Grimdarkness

[General Havoc]

In the Grim Dark Grimdarkness of the grimdark future. There is only......Hornet The Grimdark Beacon of Grimdarkness

I do need to introduce you to Locust eventually.

[Cynical Cat]

I have a number of reservations about this game, but I'm willing to give Dark Silver a shot. I wasn't going to use Deathstrike for a variety of reasons, but since frigid and Havoc have said they wanted to interact with him if they decided to play, and the RP being a substantial part of the fun of said games, I gave it another thought. I did manage to come up with a version of Deathstrike that would be suitable for this game. So in the interest of fun, here he is.

Name: Deathstrike
Faction: Decepticon
Function: Prisoner of War
Alt form: None

Recent Background: When Deathstrike reappeared with an upgraded body it was an unpleasant surprise. It wasn't a surprise that he tore through Autobots and left a trail of carnage behind. Nor was it a surprise that it was Breakout that brought him down. Deathstrike's chassis was mangled, but his mind and the intelligence data it contained were intact. For ease of transport and general safety, Deathstrike's cerebral core was transplanted into another body and his old one was scrapped. The end of the war brought the interrogation attempts to an end, but left the question of what to do with Deathstrike unanswered. There was no doubt in Breakout's mind that Deathstrike would be a target for assassination by Starscream and while the Autobot was willing to kill in battle or an execution following a trial, that was a different matter. Deathstrike was his prisoner and his responsibility. So he asked Rodimus to bring him along, saying that "we someone who doesn't believe, a Devil's Advocate so that we don't see what we want to see instead of what is really there." It would also keep Deathstrike from starting any trouble on Cybertron. Rodimus agreed and Deathstrike's fate was decided.

Decepticon Murder Machine: Deathstrike is a skilled flyer, hand to hand combatant, and a deadly shot. Unfortunately for him his current body cannot fly and is too small, weak, and unarmoured to employ the fighting techniques he previously used. He is also unarmed.

Giant Killer, Retired: Deathstrike does have experience dodging attacks by larger, more powerful machines such as Guardian Robots. He also has considerable experience on the many ways large, powerful Cybertronians can physically demolish smaller and weaker ones as well as the counters that can be employed against them. Since almost all Cybertronians now fall into one or both these groups and Deathstrike's current frame is small and agile, he is now an excellent dodger and evader.

Cut Down to Size: Deathstrike now inhabits a small body that is slightly larger than a casseticon. It is made of durable Cybertronian alloys, but it is not armoured, reinforced, or equipped with redundancy or multi-use systems. As a result he is weaker than other small Cybertronians, such as Bumble Bee or Rumble, and can be serious damaged by a LAWS rocket hit.

Locked Down: His body has no capability of flight and does not possess a transformation cog.

The Smith: A very small, semi-autonomous drone done about the size of a house cat and vaguely shaped like a steel centipede. The Smith was created to assist with repairs and upgrades and has tracked its master through his captivity. It is now a stowaway on the ship. It is not armed nor is it very intelligent.

[rhoenix]

Name: Novawing
Faction: Autobot (former Decepticon)
Function: Astrogation / Scout / (Aggressive Reconnaissance)
Alt. Form: Trans-atmospheric Fighter (img)

Known Background: Having surrendered to Breakout and a small team of Autobots during a series of skirmishes toward the latter end of the war, his original name and alternate form is known only to a few. However, he has since shown thoughtful introspection on the Autobot's cause, supporting it with all his spark once given the chance. It can be inferred from his flying style and role that he was one of the Seekers, once upon a time - the question is which one. The question is academic, for he has been a wholehearted supporter of the cause.

Once the war was over, and the NAILS began to arise, Novawing appeared rather disgusted about the whole affair, and after not much time volunteered for this expedition as navigator and stellar cartographer. He has not volunteered his reasons for wanting to go, but nobody has asked him directly either. He tends to mostly keep to himself, but has no issues conversing when asked.

It is known that he spends most of his free time on a very elaborate replica of several galaxies that he keeps in a console in his quarters, with a timeline of several million years - it allows the viewer to see the indirect effects of various battles and events of the long war, and how some solar systems were destroyed, despite having no battles that directly fought there. It is meant to be a sobering monument to the effects of the war, so that none may forget its effects, through many orders of magnitude.

Capabilities: Flight (both forms). Capable of sudden acceleration, allowing him to create tactical sonic booms in places with an atmosphere in robot mode (also required to counterbalance his railguns firing), and rapid escape velocity of most planets in his alt. mode.

Weapons: (Note: keeps his weapons and other armaments in a secure locker in the Armory, unless needed)
- Twin railguns (meant to be mounted under his wings in his alt. form and his arms in robot form)
- Shield generator that provides additional resistance to hostile stellar conditions (or brief resistance to nearly all forms of enemy fire)
- Singularity plane generators (meant for wing-mounting, able to shear and cleave ship armor and enemy craft with close fly-by's in his alt. form, and manifest as energy blades mounted on his arms in his robot form). Extends another wing-length past the physical ends of his wings in his alt. mode.

[frigidmagi]

Name: Breakout
Faction: Autobot
Function: Good Question
Alt Form: Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicle

Recent Background: Breakout fought across the entire galaxy, saving systems, worlds from the genocidal campaigns of the Decepticons or at least trying to. Built during the war, by Optimus Prime himself, Breakout was relentless, unbreaking, devoted. Always pushing himself to live up to the standards and ideals of his creator. To be the Autobot. To be what he believes he was created to be. It is a subject he has expended much effort and thought on what that means because frankly it's not a simple thing. The phrase what would Optimus do? Is... deeply loaded. But it was the foundation of Breakout's life.

Breakout's life has no more foundation. Instead of a new Cybertronian society where the flaws that lead to the Decepticon uprising (as freely acknowledged by Prime others). Prime has disappeared into exile handing Cybertron to hypocrites, deserters and imbeciles. A society where a war criminal like Starscreams prances around freely and soldiers are punished for just fighting the damn war. A society that rapidly shows itself to hate bots like Breakout and have no place for them. Or so it seems to Breakout.

He had no patience for the NAILS, viewing them as hypocritical, grasping, ungrateful, demanding cowards. To have them drive out Optimus and emplace their own into government was galling. Something he was not silent about. He was a harsh critic of Bumblebee and Prowls' government. The decision not to put Deathstrike into a body somewhat comparable to his original after the war (while having to put up with Starscream and the seekers was the last straw). He did not strictly express himself using his words.

He's not going on this mission to find some lost knights. He's guarding people who need and deserve guarding. He's looking for Optimus. He's looking for answers.

Angry Autobot Wrecking Machine: Breakout is a warmachine with millions of years of combat experience and unresolved anger issues. He's spent the majority of his lifespan fighting Cybertronians above his weight class and winning. He might not win, but no one is walking away without one hell of a repair bill.

Failsafe after failsafe: Breakout's frame is filled with secondary systems as backups for his primary and tertiary systems to back up the secondaries.

Secondary Combat Processor: Breakout has a secondary processor for tactical display and analysis.

Weapons: Forearm cannon, on Breakout's left arm is an energy cannon. Missile launcher, on Breakout's right shoulder. Breakout carries a energon combat knife.

[Dark Silver]

Rough history is complete - it's the general over view kind of thing, to give you all (mostly though who have not read the IDW Comics) a idea of what's going on and has happened.

If you want more specifics, I suggest somehow locating the IDW Generation One Comics, and read them.

[General Havoc]

Name: Hornet
Faction: Autobot
Function: Light Reconnaissance?
Alt form: Jet Fighter



Recent Background: Hornet was never like other Autobots, not really. But just how different he was from his fellows was never quite as clear as in the aftermath of the end of the war.

For all its violence and vehemence, the war passed Hornet by to a surprising degree. Though he had weapons and the capacity to use them, Wheeljack never designed him for the front lines, nor for any lines at all. Exuberant and curious to a fault, he of course found his way into all manner of dangerous situations, regardless of the best intentions of his creator or superiors. To him, those were always adventures, not wars, pulp escapades in the best tradition of every child's wild imagination. The greater war was a nebulous concept at best, well above Hornet's head, and all he could do or conceive of doing was the best he could in whatever scrap or local catastrophe he happened to be in. Brought into being in the midst of a multi-million year conflict, that was all that seemed possible.

And then the war ended.

The war's end caught everyone off guard, Hornet included, but what for the Autobots was a chance to start a new society was for Hornet a dislocation on a scale he had previously never even considered possible. The price of victory had been high for everyone, but unlike the other Autobots, Hornet did not simply lose many of his friends, he also lost his home, as the governments of Earth turned solidly against the Cybertronians in general. For Hornet, who had always had as many human friends as robotic ones, this was a bitter pill indeed to swallow, and despite everything Wheeljack and the others did to try and keep him contained in the Autobots' secret bases, Hornet could never bring himself to leave well enough alone, sneaking out again and again into the wider world looking for the friends he couldn't bring himself to believe no longer existed. Narrowly escaping capture, attack, or outright destruction at least a dozen times, his quixotic attempts to find and fix whatever had gone wrong with his world ended only when the Autobots decamped from the planet entirely, returning at last to their original home, Cybertron.

Except Cybertron wasn't Hornet's home. Built on Earth, to Earth specifications and tolerances, in mimicry of an Earth vehicle, and in the image of an Earth child, Hornet, perhaps unsurprisingly, found Cybertron as alien as any human would, a place where the Atmosphere was the wrong pressure and consistency, the terrain the same dull machine metal, a planet without oceans, without fauna, without trees or birds or friendly humans in Cessna 172s. Yet the one thing Cybertron was well supplied with was angry natives, angry at the Autobots for some unspecified reason that nobody ever bothered to explain to Hornet in terms he could understand. It wasn't that Hornet didn't understand the political issues at stake, though he didn't, but more that, increasingly, he didn't want to. The more he remained on Cybertron, the more every explanation he managed to elicit sounded the same, meaningless polemic designed to justify what to Hornet was patently unjustifiable. Unable to understand what was driving the increasingly heated hate towards the Autobots in general and himself in specific, Hornet could do nothing but withdraw to the quietest parts of Cybertron he could find and try to avoid talking to anyone at all. For Hornet, it was like being sentenced to prison.

And maybe it was that very thing, a recognition, belated though it was on Wheeljack's part, that this was simply no place for Hornet, not with the political situation turning ever-more violently hostile to Autobots in general, and completely alien to Hornet regardless, that led Wheeljack to make the momentous (for him) step of suggesting that Hornet might join with Roddimus and Ultramagnus' mission to locate Optimus Prime and the Knights of Cybertron. To Hornet, Optimus was a demigod, and the Knights of Cybertron the equivalent of a bedtime story of virtuous Autobots adventuring across the galaxy, and a quest to find them was like being transported into the human adventure movies he so-enjoyed. But honestly, for Hornet, any excuse to leave this sterile, friendless planet was one worth taking, and if the ultimate destination was unknown, then all the better. For Hornet, who all his life had been told stories of Cybertron only to find it a bitter, lonely place, the prospect of finding somewhere new, untainted by expectation, was worth more than even he imagined. No sooner had he heard of the expedition than he was begging Wheeljack to be allowed to go. And though Hornet was, and likely always would be a handful, it was recognized by those who mattered that Cybertron was no place for him, and that to have him remain here might well become dangerous, if the NAILS ever escalated matters to the point of open war. And thus, despite all his misgivings about letting his prized experiment go, Wheeljack made the necessary arangements.

The rest is up to Primus.


A Swallow among Eagles: If Hornet gained anything at all from his time on Cybertron, it was flight experience in conditions radically different from Earth. Though his design is still restricted to atmospheric flight. Hornet is an exceptionally gifted aerobat and flyer, increasingly capable of handling anything from the turbulent upper atmospheres of gas giants to the rarefied vapors of low-pressure desert-worlds. His attention still deserts him periodically (perhaps a generous term), but when the occasion demands it, he can be downright impressive.


A Parting Gift: Hornet's body is both small and fragile to an extent rarely seen among Cybertronians, a facet of his original design as the closest possible approximation to a Cybertronian child. Following innumerable scrapes, close calls, and processor-stopping moments of fear, Wheeljack labored for more time than he'd care to admit on a solution to Hornet's near-terminal fragility, and finally produced and presented to him a parting gift, a small, Hornet-sized force-shield projector, designed to be worn around his right forewing in either form like an armband. Miniature as it is (like anything associated with Hornet), the shield is designed less for Transformer-grade weapons than for near-misses, shockwaves, and the inevitable effects of Hornet's next crash-landing or mid-air collision. Perhaps it is not the equal of the protection a full-sized bot would have, but Hornet values his shield-projector deeply all the same, and not simply because it could save his life. To him it's a talisman, a reminder he can keep close at hand whenever things seem dark or terrifying, of those who've always sought to keep him safe, be they close at hand, or gone forever. For that reason, Hornet has laboriously etched a number of names into the surface of the projector with a stenciling laser, all those of friends and family.


The Child in the Woods: It's difficult to say how all this upheaval has affected Hornet, though it unquestionably has. The revelation that not only are there people in the galaxy that hate him intrinsically, but that there may be untold numbers of them is not an easy one for Hornet to accept. It's possible he still hasn't accepted it. It's also possible he's accepted it more fully than anyone knows. Hornet of late has been much quieter than his usual self, seeking the solitude of distant parts of Cybertron, and generally trying harder than usual to stay out of the way. Part of this, of course, is that he's had few if any people to talk to, for most of the Autobots have had their attentions drawn to all manner of other tasks in rebuilding Cybertron or dealing with the NAILs. But part of it is a sense of dislocation palpable to any who talk to him for any length of time, lost as he is on a planet he doesn't know among people who don't want him to be here.

Of course, Hornet is still Hornet after all, whether on Cybertron, Earth, or some other place. In the presence of any willing to indulge his... unique... temperament and worldview for any length of time, the old Hornet will rapidly come exploding back to the forefront, generally with far more verve than most would like. But ultimately, politics and war-fears aside, it was what being on Cybertron seemed to be doing to Hornet's normally irrepressible nature, maddening though it was, that finally convinced Wheeljack to send him on this quixotic adventure.


Imaginary Friends: Hornet is a child in design as well as intention, but even Wheeljack was surprised (and more than a little concerned), when Hornet's vivid imagination began to extend into behavior that in anyone else would be described as gross malfunction. Though the reasons are conjectural, Hornet periodically sees... "people", humans, Cybertronians, even alien beings conforming to nothing he's ever seen before, some he used to know, and some he's never met before. These people speak to him, usually while alone, though occasionally while not. Who they really are, and what they want is beyond anyone, even Hornet, and if Wheeljack knows what actually causes these intense hallucinations, he's never explained himself properly. Most dismiss these things as evidence that Hornet is simply crazy, or as another facet of Hornet's childish imagination, both explanations which may well be true. Consequently, he's learned not to mention such things around most everyone else, and confine his worries about what they mean to himself. At the very least, the hallucinations are never outwardly hostile, not even when they're of long-dead Decepticons who in life wished him only pain. Perhaps they're nothing more than Hornet's childish mind seeking to manufacture its own anchors in a world he doesn't fully understand. Or perhaps they're something else entirely...

[SirNitram]

Name: Outrunner
Faction: Coward
Function: High speed, usually away from combat.
Alt Form: Bugatti Veyron Super Sport.

Recent Background: Before the war, Outrunner was one of the best couriers there was; his speed and eclectic(Many said outright deranged) driving style got packages on time, no matter what. When the war started, Outrunner simply moved away from the front lines, outpacing anything trying to keep up. Every time the war.. either side.. came knocking, it found he had already moved with no forwarding address. This path led him to Earth, where he was unable to stay undercover very long; he kept doing 300mph on motorways, and being shocked someone considered that 'too fast'. Too fast was when your wheels detached from the pavement, after all. When the war found Earth, he just kept moving. He made no bones about it; he was a coward, through and through. The forced relocation was something he dreaded. Yet the end of the war, abrupt, strange, and sudden, shocked him. And then came the NAILS.

Outrunner was a coward who had fled the war. He knew it, the Autobots and Decepticons he reluctantly knew during the war knew it. The NAILS seemed to cloak their own cowardice in the airs of moral superiority, waiting until things were in their favor to forcefully apply their solution. Like all cowards, he knew staying would be Bad News, and signed up for the Knights Of Cybertron quest immediately, insisting his incredible groundspeed would be an asset, and his knack for being elsewhere when danger hit useful. So far so good.. Except Breakout. Outrunner is terrified of the Autobot warrior. After all, they're diametric opposites.

Already Gone: Outrunner has always been able to predict when bad things would happen(Specifically, to him.), and has what a human would call a sixth sense about danger. If you're about to go where he's speeding away from, chances are it's violent.

Speed Freak Not even the Stunticons can keep up with Outrunner when he's got his engines revved. The only things speedier(And thus, gaining his jealousy) are flyers, and he's outdrove several of them by being able to exploit his terrain and turning radius. No surprise his alt form is Earth's fastest production car.

Weaponry: Rear mounted ion pulsers to try and disable chasers, moving to his arms as cannons when in robot form. He also has strange pre-war technology allowing him to replicate landmines with a steady supply of energon, dropping the limpet-like things behind him to grab onto and take out pursuers. Mines unavailiable in robot mode.

[LadyTevar]

Subject: PathFinder
Primary Function : Armored Recon
Alt-Mode: High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV)/GMV

Bio:
Pathfinder fought the good fight (and lost more than a few parts) on many worlds throughout the Cybertronian War. His primary skill of navigation & pathfinding proved useful to many commanders over the millenia (at least those who could put up with his pranks). He reached Earth briefly, just long enough to pick up a new Alt-form, but left for Cybertron nearly immediately via the Space Bridge. Minorly involved in the various battles to retake Earth, Pathfinder decided to leave the ungrateful humans on their own. He's still pretty annoyed that he missed out on the whole NovaPrime Reborn thing, but the Reboot of Cybertron was the first he'd heard of it. Cybertron primal had plenty of adventure for Pathfinder, as re-mapping Cybertron is going to be a big job, but the NAILs just got up his tailpipe. Millenia of sitting on their chassis, and now they have the nerve to say Pathfinder is part of the problem? Better to head out with Ol' Roddy and see where his little map leads.

Seek and Ye Will Find Primary duty of a scout is to find out what's out there. Thus, Pathfinder has an expanded sensory suite, matched to a dedicated navigation processor (cause if you can't find your way back, what good are you?)

Finding is One Thing, Returning Safely is Another For a smaller bot, Pathfinder is well-armed & armored, and has a decent turn of speed. It's the other reason why Pathfinder is a good scout, as he is able to 'shoot & scoot' if discovered, and able to take a few shots before the BigGuns arrive.
Weapon: 1 Rapid-pulse laser rifle (mounts to roof in Alt-form)

[Cynical Cat]

Here's an alternate character idea. Let me know how you like it.

Name: Cuddlebot
Allegiance: Friendship
Function: hugging
Alt form: Convertable with a robot face in the front.

Cuddlebot is a cheerful, happy little robot. He like everyone!

Special Skills: Cuddlebot is an excellent hug-tackler.

Alternate Energy source: Cuddlebot is not powered by energon but instead uses a Laser ignitiOn Variable Emission (LOVE) fusion engine.

Weapons: Cuddlebot is equipped with a high energy laser weapon on each arm. They are RAdIaNt Beam Overcharge Weapons (RAINBOW).

[rhoenix]

Here's an alternate character idea. Let me know how you like it.

Name: Cuddlebot
Allegiance: Friendship
Function: hugging
Alt form: Convertable with a robot face in the front.

Cuddlebot is a cheerful, happy little robot. He like everyone!

Special Skills: Cuddlebot is an excellent hug-tackler.

Alternate Energy source: Cuddlebot is not powered by energon but instead uses a Laser ignitiOn Variable Emission (LOVE) fusion engine.

Weapons: Cuddlebot is equipped with a high energy laser weapon on each arm. They are RAdIaNt Beam Overcharge Weapons (RAINBOW).

+T-rep