ST: Independence 10 - "Machines of War"

[Mistral]

Um, no offense, but your punctuation sorta went to hell on that segment.

No offense taken. (Wouldn't be the first time I messed up) Do you mean my use of colons?

no apostrophes and such. ex: buggy's instead of buggies. Some weird sentence frags and such. Do you use word? It will (sometimes) underline in green if it doesn't like your structure-I live for spelling and grammar correction assistance from my computer-won't leave home without it!

 

[Dnoth]

no apostrophes and such. ex: buggy's instead of buggies. Some weird sentence frags and such.

Unfortunately, I can't edit it any more, but the corrections have been made in the document.

Thanks for the correction. ...Let my personal battle with proofreading continue...

 

[Mistral]

I stand by your side, comrad! (Oh, crap....)

 

[Dnoth]

CHAPTER 18

Supplemental
Vector Sigma Away Team
On the Surface of Cybertron

At the command of ‘eject,’ a panel on the new Decepticon’s torso opened. In quick succession, three hexagonal cylinders were flung out of the cavity. All transformed before they hit the ground.

The first formed the familiar panther-like robot. Ravage landed gracefully, but didn’t stay still for long. It perfectly mimicked the pounce of a large cat and smashed onto the roll cage of the vehicle containing the captain. It snapped down at her.

The second ‘minion’ was Laserbeak. It immediately made a strafing run on the Autobots, still in their alternate modes. Both Ultra Magnus and Kup sustained superficial damage.

Rumble, the third pod. Hit the ground in the form of a semi-humonoid, one meter tall, robot. He was small, but he moved quickly. The automaton ran, in a frenzy, to the second buggy. It scrambled up the hood and grabbed one of the security officers with prong-like fingers. It all happened so quickly. With one ‘hand’ Rumble latched onto the officer’s TEVA. The other transformed into a drill-type device. In a blur, the agile machine forced the drill into the officer’s helmet. There was only a puff of air and blood and the appendage was removed.

The large Autobot transport repositioned innumerous parts in a matter of seconds. When it was over the 10 meter tall Ultra Magnus lunged at Cyclonus. With a massive clang, Magnus delivered a powerful uppercut to the Decepticon, causing Cyclonus to topple.

Before she knew what was happening, Ensign Lemipil saw Kup, in humanoid form, grab Ravage off the top of the Starfleet vehicle and throw the cat into the side of a nearby building. Kup commented in an elderly voice, “Bad kitty!”

Now that Captain Aurelia wasn’t looking down Ravage’s mechanical gullet, she saw the plight of her security team in the other buggy. One was already dead. The remaining two were attempting to fight off the squiring robot.

<Hey, Wheeljack,> boasted Sideswipe, <watch me take out Soundwave!> The red racer sped toward the blue Decepticon.

The Autobot engineer followed the impulsive ‘swipe. <Wait!>

The caution fell on deaf ears. The hovercar neared Soundwave’s right foot.

Unfortunately, the Decepticon reacted in time. He raised his foot and slammed it back down on the vehicle form of Sideswipe. The hovercar hit the deck with a metallic bang.

The racer was pinned.

Soundwave targeted the white Autobot. His shoulder cannon re-adjusted and fired. The plasma hit its mark. Wheeljack spun wildly out of control and headed for a precipice.

The Autobot Mirage, also a former racer, attempted to save the engineer, but he couldn’t cover the distance in time. Wheeljack plummeted of the roadway.

<Wheeljack!> communicated the trapped Autobot. Rage consumed Sideswipe. He desperately attempted to transform beneath Soundwave’s heavy foot, but it was futile.

Captain Aurelia felt useless. Her crew was being attacked by the small Rumble, but it was moving too fast. It jetted in and around the other vehicle. It would be too dangerous to fire at it with the phase cannon. Even with rifles, it was difficult. She throttled their buggy to close the distance.

Energy blasts pelted Huffer. He transformed into an automaton. Laserbeak was attacking him. “I should have stayed home,” he complained. A small weapon emerged from his forearm. He returned fire, but hit nothing.

Two massive ‘feet’ collided with Magnus’ frame as Cyclonus counter-attacked. The Autobot stumbled back, allowing time for the Seeker leader to return upright. The Decepticon produced a gun…by human standards, it was a cannon. He leveled it at the former cargo carrier, “Why do you insist on tainting Cybertron with this organic filth, Magnus?”

“Better organics than Decepticons,” he rejoined. As he did, he fired a small, arm-mounted rocket at his opponent.

Cyclonus swiftly contorted his body to avoid the projectile and fired his weapon in kind.

Magnus was hit on the upper left torso. He loudly fell to one knee and cupped the wound, which ‘bleed’ glowing blue ooze.

Clanging with each step, Kup ran to aid Sideswipe. He discharged his weapon at Soundwave as he advanced. The ‘con was hit twice and was forced to release his underfoot captive.

The hovercar didn’t immediately move. Try as he might, ‘swipe couldn’t move or transform. He was damaged more than he thought.

Once Soundwave recovered, his cannon locked on to the elder Autobot. His weapon discharged a pulse of violet colored plasma. It impacted Kup at center mass.

Kup’s glowing, blue eyes flickered for a moment. Even with his mechanical features, by looking at him, one could tell the ‘life’ had left his face. The robot fell to his knees. Smoke drifted from his open mouth. The blue light from his eyes finally went dark. The rest of his large, listless body collapsed unceremoniously to the cold, metal ground.

“Get out of the vehicle so we can get a shot!” commanded Lemipil to her two security officers. They began to run in the direction of the jeep with Aurelia. The temporary, Zakdorn security chief took a few pot shots at the offending Rumble. She still couldn’t get a hit. Aurelia joined the effort with her rifle from the driver’s seat. Windslow remained nearly motionless under his protective armor. Finally, after several attempts, a phaser pulse ripped half of the machine’s torso away. It dropped to the deck with a clatter.

The security officers paused in their dash. Everyone seemed to take a moment to breathe. Sintina secured her rifle to a grab point.

It was at that moment when death literally fell from the sky. No one saw it coming. One of the Decepticon fighter craft transformed several meters above them. It squashed one of the security personnel with its foot as it landed. The TEVA suit gave little resistance to the immense weight. There was an audible ‘pop’ as the protective armor was compromised. Atmosphere and entrails burst out of what was left.

Before anyone could react, the Decepticon lifted back up into the sky and was gone.

The remaining four Starfleet officers were speechless. Aurelia finally brought everyone back. “Ok people, we can’t stay here. Windslow, Lemipil, get into the other jeep. Crewman, you’re with me.”

*****

Hatora witnessed the gruesome scene below. “By the One,” he commented. He was jolted again by weapons’ fire. Glancing at his displays, he discovered his shields were at 46 percent. The Decepticon fighters didn’t pack much a punch, but they were fast and much more maneuverable than the shuttles. Even with operational tactical scanners, it was difficult to get a lock. It was time to call in backup. He activated the com, “Cullen to Independence.”

*****

On the bridge, bin Nadal could only watch and wait. After about ten seconds, though it felt like many gut-wrenching minutes, the call finally came.

The XO responded, “This is the Indy. Go ahead.”

“I think we’ve drawn out as many hostiles as we can.”

It was the word Karim was waiting for. He snapped into action. “Understood, we’re coming in.” He ordered to an eager Mr. Dorian, “No need to play possum anymore. Bring up the mains.” Then, he walked up to the free-standing tactical station behind the captain’s chair. “Don’t take this personally, Runningfox,” offered Karim as he gestured for him to relinquish the post, “but we need the most experience person manning the weapons.”

Though disappointed, the young enlisted crew member yielded with an, “Of course, sir.”

The former tactical chief manipulated the controls. “Raising shields; arming weapons.” He said to D’nas at the helm, “Ensign, take us down.” He added with a malicious grin, “I want them to be able to read our registry number.”

END OF CHAPTER 18

 

[BrotherBenny]

Echoes of Insurrection.

Riker: We're through running from these bastards!

Whoopass One, you are free and flying.

People will remember this, if it works, as the bin Nadal Manoeuvre.

More please Dnoth

 

[Mistral]

bin Nadal better be careful-if he scratches the paint Sintina will have his head! It makes sense to bring the ship in close-you keep saying there isn't squat for atmosphere here. Good(if gruesome) battle scenes!

 

[CeJay]

That was some tightly packed action here. I have to admit I was a little bit confused mostly because of the many, many Transformer names. Don't matter though, I got the picture: Slaughter. Not good.

Let's hope bin Nadal can set things right. He's got a big enough ship to do it with!

 

[Dnoth]

CHATPER 19

Supplemental
Vector Sigma Away Team
On the Surface of Cybertron

Cyclonus held his weapon on the injured Ultra Magnus. “You’re kind disgusts me Autobot. You’re disruption prevents any chance of our race rising to power.” He aimed, “This is your end, Magnus.”

A dark shadow swept over the already dim landscape. Everyone paused long enough to glance up. The unmistakable silhouette of a Steamrunner-class starship blocked the distant stars.

Sintina couldn’t help herself. She gazed up at the ship. It was majestic. It was massive. She’d probably never have an opportunity to see the Indy quite like this again. Under its hull, a fighter gave chase to a shuttle and fired upon it.

Ensign Lemipil could just barely be heard over the shared channel. “Go get ‘em Indy.”

The leader of the Decepticon Seekers said in shock, “What?” He saw the ventral phaser strip light up at opposite ends. Cyclonus had seen it before. “By the Pit.” In a matter of seconds, the Starfleet ship had picked off three fighters from the sky. The rest of his warriors began to scatter in the face of this new onslaught. <I gave no order to disengage!> he thundered.

<We’re no match for that thing!> came from a fleeing Skywarp.

Cyclonus looked over at Soundwave just in time to see him take a hit from one of the alien ground units. Then, he turned his head to see Magnus’ smirking face. The Decepticon screamed out in a primal way. In his rage, he shot the large Autobot twice: once in the existing wound, the other to the face. The former went right through the hand that was covering the old wound. The latter tore off all the armor on Magnus’ head, exposing mechanics and circuitry. The Autobot fell. His weight caused a minor tremor.

The Decepticon quickly assessed the situation. Only the small Autobot was still actively fighting. The flesh creatures were wearing down Soundwave. All his Seekers and Laserbeak had left the battle. It was time to cut their losses. In the underground chamber, Shockwave would be on his own. <Soundwave…> He looked over. The Decepticon communications specialist was already in status lock on the deck.

A painful blast from the organics slammed into Cyclonus’ arm. He shot dagger with his eyes. Then, he jumped off the same precipice hat had taken Wheeljack.

To Aurelia’s discontent, the large robot flew back into view; this time in his fighter mode. She watched the final Decepticon jet out of sight. With a sudden relief, she gazed up to see the Indy completing its long, slow pass over head. It was gaining altitude again. She activated her com, “Ground team to Independence. Thanks for the assist.”

Chief Hatora’s voice cut in, “That goes for the shuttle squadron as well, Indy.”

“It was our pleasure,” said Karim. He continued, “Captain, it looks like your team is good to go. Shuttles maintain a holding pattern, just in case the hostiles return.”

Aurelia observed the battle ground to see who was still a part of her team. Sideswipe, slowly…and apparently painfully…was transforming. He and the small, Huffer seemed to be the only mechanical allies they had left. Both had injuries. She replied to the Indy, “Understood, we’re heading down.” Then, the captain turned on the exterior speaker, “Why don’t you guys stay here. We can get the job done from here.”

“Fine by me,” volunteered the two meter tall Huffer.

The former racer, however, was less enthused. He just finished the transformation process into a humanoid. “No offense, but I want to make sure the job…our job…gets done.”

Aurelia realized she didn’t have to compromise with the disabled ‘bot. “Alright,” she said, “but good luck keeping up with us.” She continued on the mission channel, “Windslow, let’s go.”

The disgraced captain was merely an observer in recent events. It happened so quickly and with so much confusion, there simply hadn’t been time to be scared. Still in a type of fog, his foot pressed the jeep’s accelerator and he followed the other buggy into the blackened tunnel.

Sideswipe looked around. Kup and Ultra Magnus’ chassis littered the chrome ground. Wheeljack would be damn lucky if he survived the fall. …Not to mention Trailbreaker. He hobbled closer to Huffer, who making some self-repairs, <Yeah, this was worth it.>

<That’s what I said from the beginning, but no…nobody listens to me.>

<Huffer.>

<Yeah.>

<Shut up.>

‘Swipe then limped into the same darkness that enveloped the two buggies.

*****

The way was lit by the jeeps’ headlamps. The hum of their engines echoed off the cavernous walls. There was a light ahead. Within a few minutes, they entered a huge, cylindrical shaped chamber. In the center was a faceted orb, Vector Sigma. It was about 20 meters in diameter and glowed a soft yellow. Attached to its base, via power conduits, was the warp core. As they rounded the spherical super computer, something new caused Sintina to slam on the brakes. Her heart skipped a beat.

It was a huge automaton, topping 15 meters. It was armed to the teeth and prominently displayed the icon of the Decepticons.

Lemipil and the other security officer trained their phase cannons on it.

The short ride into the deep, allowed Windslow to experience terror. The sight of the new Decepticon caused his flight reaction to surface. He wanted nothing more than to turn around and bolt out of there. To his credit, he didn’t.

To everyone’s relief, it acted more like a statue than anything else. It didn’t move or react at all to their presence.

The chief engineer offered his opinion, “It may not be activated.”

Aurelia only rejoined with, “Let’s unpack the anti-grav units and tow cables and get the hell out of here.”

“It’ll take me a minute to figure out what they did to the core and disconnect it,” Windslow said.

“Fine, we’ll cover you.”

*****

On the bridge, Commander bin Nadal glimpsed at the chronometer. The operation was into its fifth minute. He had asked the question before, but inquired again. “Is there anyway we can get through?”

Kimula, currently manning communications, spun in her chair, “Karim, they’re too deep. There’s just too much heavy metal between us and them.”

The problem had been anticipated, of course, but he hoped…

*****

Windslow decided to forgo finesse. He used a laser cutter to disconnect the power couplings. It wasn’t the safest…or smartest thing to do, but it was the quickest. He made the final cut, “That’s it. Crewman, use the mini-tractor to place the core on the anti-grav units.”

The security officer began to use the tripod device when a blast of plasma annihilated him, the tractor, and the buggy he was next to. All went up in a quickly vanishing ball of flame.

Sintina immediately found the source of the destruction. She was all too familiar with the robot. Shockwave entered from an adjacent corridor. His cannon glowed with anticipation of another discharge.

In a booming voice, he declared, “I like the reactor where it is.”

Lacking a weapon, Windslow took cover.

Lemipil saw the Commander’s dash before she opened fire with the phase cannon. Utilizing her rifle, Sintina joined in the assault.

The phaser pulses proved rather effective. With each shot, Shockwave stumbled back. He tried to return fire, but the barrage coming from the jeep was relentless. Sparks, smoke, and energon flowed from the massive Decepticon. Soon, he simply attempted to shield himself from the onslaught. He was forced to the wall. Still the attack came.

A demonic grimace formed on Sintina’s lips and she depressed the trigger, again and again.

Finally, the ten meter tall robot slid to the deck. His ‘eye’ continued to glow, but there was no other movement. His armor had been compromised in several places. Scorch marks and loose components covered his body.

Sideswipe entered in time to see the mighty fall. He laboriously walked over to get a better look. “You did it,” he blurted, “You defeated Shockwave.”

The Decepticon’s head rose slightly. “Captain…you are condemning us to extinction. Your own laws forbid genocide…that is exactly what you are doing.”

Aurelia still held her rifle on the machine. She was sorely tempted to end it there, but she responded. “No. I didn’t do this to you. You did it. Species kill themselves all the time.”

Having failed with the organic, Shockwave pleaded his case to his brethren. “Sideswipe, don’t you see? That reactor is the only way Cybertronians will survive…Decepticon…or Autobot. Don’t let them take it.”

All eyes rested on the Autobot. He took a few steps. Then he looked at Aurelia, “Do you know what will happen once you leave?”

She slowly got out of the jeep and tapped a button on her arm twice. She thoughtfully asked, “What?”

“There will be 46 Decepticons and eight Autobots. We’ll still hide…We’ll still be hunted. Nothing will change.”

Lemipil dismounted the buggy as well and cautiously walked away from it.

Sideswipe continued, “If we are ever to rebuild, we’ll need Vector Sigma. We’ll need power.”

Captain found her officers; both were a relatively safe distance from the jeep. “The core is coming with me.” She pressed and held another control on her forearm.

The buggy exploded from the inside. It was enough to obliterate the vehicle, but the real power of the Mark 22 warhead was the electro-magnetic pulse it produced. It forced Aurelia to the ground. Sideswipe collapsed to the floor as if he were a puppet with its strings cut. Shockwave’s eye dimmed and the warp core went into emergency lockdown, just as if it were installed in a vessel.

The moment of chaos stopped. Total darkness was a side effect of the device. Not even the lights on the TEVA’s worked.

Lemipil screamed in her helmet, hoping there was enough atmosphere to carry her call outside her suit. “Is everybody ok?”

There was a faint reply, though she was probably yelling as well. It was Captain Aurelia, “I’m alright.”

The security officer spoke a bit contemptuously, “Commander, are you safe?”

“Yes.” The muffled voice continued, “We’re going to have to go back up the shaft and call for help to get the core out of here.”

“Well,” concluded Aurelia, “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

END OF CHAPTER 19

 

[BrotherBenny]

Nice piece there.

I wonder what will really happen to the 'cons. Will Sintina fulfill her promise and raze Kolkular to the ground???

 

[Dnoth]

EPILOGUE

Supplemental
Vector Sigma Away Team
On the Surface of Cybertron

As the trio exited the tunnel, there were already two shuttles on the deck. One of the shuttlepods was off loading a pair of anti-grav units.

Huffer walked up to Aurelia, “Well, what happened?”

She transmitted externally and over the com, “Chief Hatora. Target the remaining Autobot with your phasers.”

“Aye, ma’am.”

The two meter tall robot stepped back, “What’s going on?”

“Leave this area, now,” demanded the captain.

Huffer was surrounded. He was right…You can’t believe organics. “We trusted you,” he blasted.

“Now!” repeated Aurelia.

The Autobot moved back. He reluctantly transformed and left.

She addressed the chief engineer, “Windslow, get that core up here ASAP.”

There was a pause. … “Yes, Captain.”

*****

Less than an hour later, Mirage observed the last alien craft leave his home; their precious warp core and anti-matter pods in tow. Cybertron was quite once again. He deactivated his cloak and solemnly walked up to Kup.

The elder Autobot’s spark had been damaged. There was no hope of fixing him. Mirage hefted up the hulk and hid the body. He didn’t want to Decepticons to scavenge Kup for parts.

Mirage returned for Ultra Magnus. His leader’s spark was still intact, but it would take centuries to scrounge up the raw materials to affect repairs. He’d need help to haul Magnus. <Huffer…come in Huffer. I need your help.>

*****

Stardate: 54042.1 (16 January 2377)
USS Independence, Ready Room
In Orbit of Cybertron

Sintina asked Karim dispassionately, “How are we for personnel?”

The XO took the loss a bit more personally, “We lost eight people. Windslow is down some essential engineering posts and we lost a whole shift’s worth of security personnel. Those divisions will have to go to twelve hour rotations to keep up.”

She stated, “We need to start cross-training people to lessen the effect in the future.”

Karim nodded to his captain. She put up a good, professional front. He absently concurred, “Good idea, ma’am.”

Aurelia added, “I’ve sent a request in to Starfleet for new people, including a new security chief. It will be a few months, due to our location.”

“Of course,” bin Nadal said. “I got a call from one of Nechayev’s people. He assured me any new people assigned to this ship will be screened first.”

Sintina was warming up for a rant about her first officer’s access to the former Fleet Admiral when the enunciator sounded. The captain spoke up, “Come in.”

Lieutenant Tang entered her office. He held a data padd. The Asian science officer sounded proud and nervous at the same time. “Captain, I didn’t have time to tell you this earlier, but I knew it was a goal of yours…and I asked Wheeljack to help…He found it.”

She raised her hands, “Found what, Lieutenant?”

“The Section 31 override programs,” he blurted. “Wheeljack eliminated them.”

Windslow shifted in his chair to address the science officer, “You and Windslow have been working on that for months.”

“…and we couldn’t even find them,” Tang added.

A genuine smile crossed Sintina’s face. She felt gratitude…and then shame. “Good thinking, asking the Autobot for help,” she said, realizing the irony of the statement.

Tang Zian offered the padd, “He also was able to give us access to the prefix code program. Here’s my full report.”

Her tone didn’t reflect her words, “This makes my day, thanks Lieutenant. Dismissed.”

As the door closed, bin Nadal put salt in the wound, “They did honor their end of the bargain, Sintina...and then some.”

She stood from her seat and gazed out the window. She examined the irregular, metal sphere that hung in space, wishing they never changed course…but they had. She had. Sintina always believed in rewarding virtue. Despite Sideswipe’s comments, the Autobots had demonstrated trustworthiness. Without turning around, she asked, “How many shuttles have we lost on this mission?”

The first officer consulted his padd, “Five. We’ll have the shuttle fleet back up to full strength in about six weeks.”

Aurelia turned, “What’s left of the Frazi?”

“It’s not that bad, really…a hull breach. That’ll be one of the easy ones to repair.”

She stepped closer, “No, it was totally destroyed.”

“Ma’am?”

“Order its autopilot to land near the northern pole, in Autobot territory.”

Karim stood, “Captain, that shuttle still has its warp drive and phasers intact. If we do that, we could be prolonging their war…and their suffering.”

“Without their help,” Sintina justified, “we’d be very cold and dying right now.”

“With respect, I don’t think that’s a good idea…” he began.

Aurelia said softly, but with authority, “That’s you’re right to think that, Commander. Now kindly shut up.”

Bin Nadal long ago knew he had to pick his fights when Sintina was concerned. He decided this wasn’t one of them. “Yes, ma’am.”

*****

Captain Aurelia stood in front of the command chair. All were at their posts. “Bridge to Engineering, can we leave yet?”

Windslow’s voice answered, “At your discretion, Captain.”

“Very well.” She made eye contact with Dorian at Ops, “Deploy the warning beacon.”

“Aye, beacon away.”

A moment later, Kimula reported, “the buoy is transmitting on all channels, ma’am.”

The captain looked back at Ensign Lemipil. “Arm photon launchers. Target Kolkular and make sure our original landing shuttle is destroyed as well.”

Karim avoid looking at Sintina. Her word was something she prized. He understood, and already voiced his opinion.

The Latino captain observed the target area on the main screen. The Frazi had landed, unmanned, a few minutes before. It was time to fulfill her oath and leave this place. Her command was lackluster, “Fire.”

*****

Four red photon torpedoes exited the Independence’s aft launchers as it broke orbit.

*****

Cyclonus examined the disabled alien shuttle. He detected the same type of power source as the mothership. It was an anti-matter reactor, though, much smaller. It was still, by far, the largest power source on the planet. <Perhaps this encounter wasn’t a total loss,> he thought.

Something in the sky caught his eye…four glowing lights. They were heading toward him. He assumed his fate. <Slag.>

*****

Sintina watched as a plume of fire rose from the dark planet. She sat down. “D’nas …resume course and engage at warp seven.”

END OF “MACHINES OF WAR”

 

[DavidFalkayn]

To me, the mark of a well done crossover is when a reader with little to no knowledge of one of the universes can read the story and be able to follow it without any problems. You've succeeded admirably in that task as I, having no real knowledge of the Transformers universe, could follow and enjoy this story without any trouble at all. The characters--whether from the Indy, Decepticon, or Autobot--were well defined and interacted well with each other.

A very well written and executed story.

 

[TheLoneRedshirt]

I concur with David. You managed to keep my interest throughout the entire story, despite my lack of knowledge of the Transformers. You put together a tight, action-packed story line with a strong and satisfying conclusion.

Captain Aurelia seemed to "grow-up" a bit in this story. I'm sure she has more maturing to do, but it's gratifying to see progress. Bin Nadal showed his value as XO as well.

A tough mission for the Indy, though. They took a beating, losing both personnel and shuttle craft. At least they're alive and able to lick their wounds and move on.

Great story!

 

[Mistral]

What they said. As a child of the 70s the Transformers were just "some kiddy show" when it came out-you brought them to life very well indeed. Um, stupid Mistral alert: What the hell happened to The Frazi-did she give it as a gift or use it to blow up the Decepticon's base(I'm leaning towards the latter). If that's what happened-good finish!

 

[CeJay]

Wasn't the Frazi a gift for the Autobots? If that's the case this is would be a blatant violation of the Prime ... never mind.

As you might remember I thought you had lost your mind after proposing a crossover with Transformers but you actually pulled it off quite well, avoiding the cheesy-ness of a Saturday morning cartoon and instead bringing us all the coolness from a Bay directed blockbuster.

You also managed to give us some fantastic character work with bin Nedal and Aurelia who I guess are both still learning what it means to be a command officer.

My only point of ciriticism is what I mentioned before. The showdown was a bit heavy on transformer robots which made it a bit difficult for me to follow at time. For somebody less familar with that franchise it might have been a good idea to write from Starfleet crew's perspective instead. But you had fun with this story, this comes across quite clearly and made this a very lively read.

Overall, job well done.

 

[Dnoth]

Thank you everyone.

I admit, in the latter half of the story, Transformer fans probably got more satisfaction out of it than non-TF fans. That is a legitimate complaint.

The Frazi was a gift to the Autobots and a...debatable call.

From the beginning this story was meant to be fun and exciting. It was a thrill to write and I'm glad others got enjoyment out of it at well.

I'm extremely pleased readers seem to think I meshed the two universes without becoming too cartoonish.

Again, thank you for reading and commenting!

 

[BrotherBenny]

It was a good ending to a good story. Aurelia certainly did mature somewhat here. I think I'll have to make bin Nadal a little tougher in To Serve the Unwise when I write it.

Are we going to have a UT crossover utilising all of our crews at some stage? Each of us writing our crew's chapter and then seeing what happens?

 

[Admiral2]

A few readers here have commented that they enjoyed the story even though they don't know anything about Transformers. Speaking as someone who knows as much about Transformers as he does about Star Trek, my assessment is, yes, it's a good story, but you missed a couple of opportunities.

First, I thought you said you were a Generation One fan in the beginning of the thread. If that's the case, I still don't understand the logic behind the decision to leave out the two most prominent characters from G1, Optimus Prime and Megatron. You made Shockwave the uber leader of the Decepticons here, but Shockwave was never a major G1 character. He was Cybertron's babysitter while the real action was happening on Earth under the direction of OP and Megs

And that leads to what I think is the biggest problem: setting the story on Cybertron where the Transformers converted into their Cybertronian vehicle modes.

Those of you who were never fans may not get this, but the reason Transformers was cool to its fans when it first came out was that giant alien robots had the ability to shape-change themselves into machines people see every day. In G1, Sideswipe and Sunstreaker were Lamborghini Countaches. Mirage was a Formula One racer. Skywarp was an F-15 Eagle. Soundwave - yes, lowly Soundwave - was a tape deck, and Laserbeak, Ravage and Rumble were his tapes. The robots' disguise modes were what allowed them operate secretly on a planet where fleshlings are the dominant lifeform, or would allow them to operate on any planet with complex machines. That's the entire concept of Robots In Disguise!

That said, I think the best way to have done a Star Trek/Transformers crossover would have been to move the action to Federation space, and have the Autobots and Decepticons transform into machines that would be recognizable to the people who live in Federation space (and Star Trek fans). The way you've done it, it's a good Star Trek story, but as a Trek/TF x-over, the TF part of it feels like it kind of misses the point.

"Skywarp turned into a fighter." Okayyy...

"Skywarp turned into a Romulan Warbird." Coolness!

See what I'm saying?

 

[Dnoth]

Are we going to have a UT crossover utilising all of our crews at some stage? Each of us writing our crew's chapter and then seeing what happens?

I have no idea. Sounds like a good discussion to have on the UT board!

I still don't understand the logic behind the decision to leave out the two most prominent characters from G1, Optimus Prime and Megatron.

I loosely adhered to G1 canon on that point. In that, Prime and Megs were off planet in search of energy. And they've been gone for a very long time.

You made Shockwave the uber leader of the Decepticons here, but Shockwave was never a major G1 character. He was Cybertron's babysitter while the real action was happening on Earth under the direction of OP and Megs

Exactly...this story shows what the babysitter was up to.

And that leads to what I think is the biggest problem: setting the story on Cybertron where the Transformers converted into their Cybertronian vehicle modes...That's the entire concept of Robots In Disguise!

It was always my intent to start the story by 'finding' Cybertron. The rest flowed from that point. Obviously you'd go by another route, which is fine. It's just not the way I decided to do it.

See what I'm saying?

I do...really, I do. As you said, the robots in disguise aspect was kinda irrelevant to the story. I agree with that, however, I always liked the story behind the Transformers. That is what made them interesting to me, not the fact they can change forms.

In the end, I think it's just writer's preference. But I genuinely thank you for giving your input and reading the story. And if you ever decide to take a stab at another TF/Trek story, I would love to read it.

 

[Mr. Fergy]

I love both Star Trek and The Transformers, always have. Nice concept!

 

[Mistral]

Who the hell, in the 23rd century, is going to rec a Lamborghini? Bottom line-they took useful forms to get the job done-on both sides- and didn't have trademark appearances because they weren't infiltrating a society-they were on their home world.


(jumping up and down) I got it right, didn't I?