Muahahahahahaha. I knew DS couldn't resist for long.
Name: Archon (Often nicknamed "Mismatch")
Faction: Maximal/Predacon (see below)
Function: Intelligence Officer
Quote: "The best way to break into a fortress is to knock on the front door."
Alt Mode: Archon's alt mode is that of an
Archaeopteryx, the feathered evolutionary link between birds and dinosaurs. He stands four and a half feet tall in alt mode, covered feathers large and small. His main body is turquoise melding to an emerald green on his lengthy tail, while his long wing feathers are burnished gold. He has razor-sharp claws mounted on the end of his wings, and equally razor-sharp teeth mounted in his beak, as well as energon sheathed talons, giving him all manner of options in close quarters fighting.
Bio: The Great Peace, the Pax Cybertronia, lasted for three hundred years, but peace is not maintained by goodwill alone. There were Cybertronians out to derail the process of peace from the beginning of the age, and accordingly, always there have been Cybertronians dedicated to preserving it by whatever means were necessary. Some did so by gun and sword, some by persuasion and diplomacy, and some through the arts of subtlety, subterfuge, and surveillance. Archon, to all who would investigate, was one of the latter. Neither overly diplomatic nor wielding incredible combat skill, Archon was possessed of a streak of almost Predacon-worthy cunning and a mind seemingly
made for the weaving of labyrinthine plots and schemes, all of which were woven in the service of countering the no-less devious machinations of the Predacons who sought to re-ignite the Great War. Though by necessity somewhat reticent about discussing specifics of his own background and experience, there was never a question about Archon's skill at discerning the most vital bits of intelligence from disparate information, counteracting the most intricate of Predacon plans, and responding to them in kind in the service of Cybertron, and of peace. Not everyone approved of his methods, but nobody could ever fault Archon's results or dedication to his cause, either before his assignment to the Axalon as intelligence officer, or after the fateful crash which catapulted him into a position of more responsibility than he was accustomed to. Such is Archon's well-known persona among the Maximals.
It is all a fraud.
Archon is, in reality, an
exquisitely deeply-planted Predacon agent, groomed and deployed by Megatron himself to infiltrate and destroy the Maximals in whatever way his real master thought best. That he is thought an intelligence officer for the
Maximals is merely all part of Megatron's plan, and tribute to Archon's incredible skills at deception, misdirection, and theatricality. Archon himself has no idea what Megatron's final plans for him are, but no doubt he is to become one of the most top secret weapons in utterly destroying the Maximals and attaining supremacy over the galaxy.
... unless of course something
unexpected should happen...
Personality: Archon projects the personality of a loyal and dedicated, if a bit stuffy, Maximal, constantly appearing ever-so-slightly overworked, but always willing to help out however he can with his own expert fields. He is, by necessity, somewhat secretive, but he attempts to be as 'open' with the other Maximals as he can without compromising the plans, schemes, and operations it is his job to carry out, an elementary security measure that everyone can understand. He is clearly both very intelligent and very perceptive, though he does disguise the extent of these attributes at times whenever it suits him. He deliberately cultivates many rumors and stories of the various secrets in his past, or the exploits he has been responsible for, understanding full well that an intelligence officer is supposed to be a somewhat mysterious figure, and that the tales told will serve to distract from the truth.
The truth is that Archon is a nervous wreck. His assignment to infiltrate the Maximals was intended to be nothing more than a temporary assignment, a chance to exercise his skills at deception for a very precise and limited goal. It has since mutated into something well beyond his wildest dreams or nightmares. While he has risen to the occasion, constructing a web of deception so complex as to be nearly impenetrable even by him, obscuring and obfuscating his motives and persona behind walls of misdirection, the challenge is wearing on even his capacities. Ironically, the more secure his position becomes among the Maximals and the better a position he is in to finally strike whatever secret blow Megatron has planned, the less he seems to be able to handle the internal strain of everything he expected to keep up. Worse yet, he cannot figure out
why it is that his nerves are so badly shot. Logically speaking, the crash has placed him in an even more unimpeachable position than ever, and yet he remains more and more consumed with the fear of being found out, more and more convinced that somewhere, somehow, someone is onto him, preparing to reveal him to the remainder of the Maximals as what he is, a traitor of the most supreme and vicious sort. The stress has reached the point where the other Maximals are beginning to worry that their intelligence officer is starting to buckle under the pressure of his job, a mistake he has permitted to perpetuate, for fear that the reality should become known.
And strangest of all, he finds that it is not the fear of a traitor's punishment... but the fear of exposure alone, before the Maximals he has spent so long amongst, that is starting to consume his every waking moment. And he knows that when the call does come, and when Megatron finally calls on him to leave the shadows and strike openly against the Maximal leadership, then he will finally be exposed. He who has hidden in the shadows will be forced into the light.
It scares him to death.
Weapons: Not explicitly designed for combat, Archon is still quite capable when cornered. His claws, teeth, and talons are all razor-sharp and energon-coated, quite capable of shredding armor like lace and attacking vital systems. He cannot actually fly in beast form, but his wings give him some lift, enabling him to glide or ride particularly strong wind currents at need. He is not particularly large or heavy, but he is agile and extremely precise, and tougher than he might appear. Still, a heavy-duty brawler can easily overcome him in the right circumstances.
In addition to his melee capabilities, Archon carries something called an "Arc Welder", a crude but deadly energon-fueled electrical projector, originally designed as a welding tool, that can manifest semi-aimed blasts of lightning over a very short range. Built into his right hand as a bot, and into his very
optics as a beast, the weapon in neither case is overt, giving him the appearance of being unarmed even when he is anything but. There is nothing whatsoever subtle (or accurate) about the Arc Welder, and use of it rapidly drains Archon's energon reserves, but it serves admirably for when there is no other option, and its electrical charge has the admirable side-effect of overloading the systems of most targets he deploys it against. Beyond thirty yards or so, the Arc Welder is completely useless, thus rendering him totally without long-range weaponry of any sort.
Abilities: Not incredibly physically astounding, Archon is capable enough in a pinch in combat, but his real skills are in the arts of espionage, intelligence, and deception. He is not stealthy, has no special capacity to avoid physical detection, but his cunning and skill at constructing intricate plots and unraveling those of others are second to none. He has used these skills many times in the service of the Maximals, and continues to do so, even if his own real agenda is hidden many layers below. He is a natural actor, liar, and thespian, tailoring every statement he makes for the hearer, adopting and shedding personalities like stage props, always careful to cover which lies he has told to which people. His plans are complicated, deep, long-term, and replete with contingencies and escape routes, to the point where after all this time, he has still not been meaningfully impugned on any charge, even on an implied one. And no suspicions of his real nature have ever stuck to him, deflected by the shield of lies he has so carefully constructed around himself. He is, in every sense, a Master of Spies.
Weaknesses: "The wicked flee when none pursue," or so goes the saying. Archon is a perfect embodiment of this truism, for he is being crushed by the weight of his dual allegiance, his satisfaction at his own skill rapidly being replaced by crippling doubt and fear. He is nervous, worried, harried at all times like a paranoiac, afraid to death that someone is about to find him out for who he really is, even though the chances of this happening are less now than any other time in the past. No matter how hard he throws himself into his work, no matter how many layers of protective lies he spins, his fear and anxiety grow almost daily, to the point where even he cannot fake it anymore. So far, it has not led him to make a fatal mistake, but only time will tell if it ever does, and he is beginning to fear that the mis-step which will doom his efforts and expose him for the snake he is, is only a matter of time.
And he's not even sure he doesn't
want it to happen.
On a prosaic note, Archon is not particularly combat effective, his Arc Welder and melee appendages notwithstanding. He has no ranged combat capacity, is not particularly fast, and while agile, has no staying power whatsoever. All he has to rely upon are his wits, and, caught between the Maximals and the Predacons, he is afraid that those will no longer suffice soon enough.
