Post by Grand Moff Muffin on Apr 7, 2011 19:13:46 GMT
THE FALL AND RISE OF THE DELUXE INSECTICONS
“You have your orders. Find three more trustworthy Decepticons and be ready for transport to Earth! There to pave the way for my triumphal return… after, of course, I have brought Cybertron fully under Decepticon control once more!”
___
“Ravage, report.”
“Cybertron’s in a bad way, mighty Megatron. The damage done to the Decepticon army by Legonis, Octus and Seizer will take years to repair.”
“How can this be? It is but two years since I last walked the surface of our homeworld. The Autobots were all but extinct, and the Decepticons held the planet in an iron grip.”
“True, Megatron. When Straxus ruled, our hold on Cybertron was undisputed. Unfortunately, the void that he left behind allowed those to step in whose agenda it was to remove from the picture all those that the Autobots feared. And we on Earth helped them do this.”
“Explain.”
“Why, great Megatron, is it not obvious? For the last two years, the supreme Decepticon commander has by choice based himself on Earth. First you, then Shockwave and then Ratbat have ordered our finest troops – the ones that kept the resistance in check – off-planet. First you summoned six members of the original Mayhem Attack Squad – Shrapnel, Bombshell, Kickback, Ramjet, Thrust and Dirge – plus a few non-entities such as Runabout and Runamuck. Then Shockwave brought over the Predacons and Seacons, our best hunters. And finally Ratbat relocated Blitzwing, Astrotrain and Octane to bolster his ranks. All we thought of when we did this was to pick the best to serve our own purposes. We never considered what impact it would have on the stability of the regime back on Cybertron.”
“Go on.”
“A few years ago the most powerful Decepticon war-lord after Straxus, Scorponok, also left Cybertron. He is dependent on human allies now, and is unlikely to return home by choice.”
“And yet there must be others, surely. Between the three of us and Scorponok we cannot have depleted a whole planet’s worth of warrior hearts!”
“There are a few possible candidates who might have picked up the torch and carried on. I have just had a meeting with Bludgeon, of whom you may have heard. He shows great dedication to the cause, and perhaps leadership potential. But he and his comrades Octopunch and Stranglehold recommend that we seek out another first, one who goes by the name of Thunderwing.”
“I know him. He served under Megadeath. A promising officer. I thought he would go far.”
“Many had high expectations of him, but he has been scarcely heard of in recent ages. Nevertheless, Bludgeon claims to know of his location.”
“These are slim pickings, Ravage.”
“Indeed they are, Megatron. Yet I recommend viewing the circumstance as an opportunity! We can appoint three new Decepticons to oversee our affairs, as per your orders, but I strongly urge you to make this but a temporary arrangement whilst they evaluate this Thunderwing for full command. Despite your misgivings about allowing a single leader to draw too much power to himself, we have seen that a triumvirate can be far, far worse.”
“Is there worse concerning Octus and the others that I have yet to hear?”
“There is, my lord. Ratbat’s three successors did more than simply allow the Decepticons to stagnate. They systematically set about eliminating all those who followed your ways. They took advantage of the removal of the capital from Polyhex to Helex, in the months following the fall of Darkmount and that incident with your antimatter powers and the Space Bridge, to shuffle the cards in their favour. They sent some of our finest, bravest warriors into Kalis on suicide missions to be overwhelmed and torn apart by the reanimated corpses of the mad Autobot scientist Flame. They invited aliens to Cybertron, supposedly to watch gladiatorial contests involving Autobot prisoners, but paid groups of them to eliminate troublesome – or rather, loyal – Decepticons who supposedly by accident found themselves cut off from help just when they needed it. They sent missions into Mecannibal space, which of course never returned. And then, finally, they sent those they most despised to fight us in the Time Wars.”
“You mean, the ones we killed were-?”
“Yes. The very ones that the triumvirate felt were most likely to follow in your footsteps.”
“Damn their souls. I only regret they died so quickly, before I could make them fully pay for their crimes. Tell me all.”
“I am as guilty as you are, mighty Megatron, in being an unwitting accomplice in the great Decepticon purge. I ripped the life out of one of the Insecticons with my own teeth.”
“I know not whom I killed… It is only weeks, but it feels like another life.”
“Eight were selected to go to Earth and fight alongside the Autobots against Galvatron… and us. Specially selected, they stood for everything that went against the triumvirate’s vision for Cybertron – passion, fearlessness, hunger for battle, and honour. Admittedly, some of them like Flywheels had shown an excessive tendency in this last regard, to the point of honouring alliances with the hated Autobots when our common interests were at stake.”
“I have done the same myself… though we must regrettably make an example of any who refuse to cut those ties of honour when battle is over. But I see it all now. They were the antithesis of the triumvirate, too dangerous to be allowed to live. And we killed them!”
“Not all of them. Some survived, but those who fought most ruthlessly, who showed the greatest relish for battle against unbeatable foes – the best of them – they died at our hands.”
“Who were they?”
“Insecticons all – Barrage, Chop Shop, Ransack, Venom. They were good, very good, and they fought like ones possessed. I have rarely seen braver warriors. According to the Triggercons, they felt they had something to prove. To them, death was a price worth paying to regain their honour. Given that, they never stood a chance against the triumvirate, and us.”
“Regain their honour?”
“They had recently been promoted to the Mayhem Attack Squad, and were so proud of their new positions. But on their first mission to Earth they were captured by Wreckers, and on return to Cybertron suffered the humiliation of being exchanged for a handful of unimportant Autobot prisoners – a couple of Triggerbots and a Sparkabot, I believe. They were crushed! In such a condition, Seizer and his cronies could have ordered them to fight just about anyone, and they’d have done so willingly. Determined never to be captured again, it is rumoured that the four of them made what was effectively a suicide pact, disengaging the safeties on their cerebral circuits so that incapacitation would next time result in death rather than capture.”
“My god, Ravage, what have we done? So be it, then, these are my orders. Have statues of these Deluxe Insecticons erected beside former war-lords in the Hall of Heroes, and let the statues bear the following inscription: It was Megatron’s honour to meet them in battle.”
THE END
“You have your orders. Find three more trustworthy Decepticons and be ready for transport to Earth! There to pave the way for my triumphal return… after, of course, I have brought Cybertron fully under Decepticon control once more!”
___
“Ravage, report.”
“Cybertron’s in a bad way, mighty Megatron. The damage done to the Decepticon army by Legonis, Octus and Seizer will take years to repair.”
“How can this be? It is but two years since I last walked the surface of our homeworld. The Autobots were all but extinct, and the Decepticons held the planet in an iron grip.”
“True, Megatron. When Straxus ruled, our hold on Cybertron was undisputed. Unfortunately, the void that he left behind allowed those to step in whose agenda it was to remove from the picture all those that the Autobots feared. And we on Earth helped them do this.”
“Explain.”
“Why, great Megatron, is it not obvious? For the last two years, the supreme Decepticon commander has by choice based himself on Earth. First you, then Shockwave and then Ratbat have ordered our finest troops – the ones that kept the resistance in check – off-planet. First you summoned six members of the original Mayhem Attack Squad – Shrapnel, Bombshell, Kickback, Ramjet, Thrust and Dirge – plus a few non-entities such as Runabout and Runamuck. Then Shockwave brought over the Predacons and Seacons, our best hunters. And finally Ratbat relocated Blitzwing, Astrotrain and Octane to bolster his ranks. All we thought of when we did this was to pick the best to serve our own purposes. We never considered what impact it would have on the stability of the regime back on Cybertron.”
“Go on.”
“A few years ago the most powerful Decepticon war-lord after Straxus, Scorponok, also left Cybertron. He is dependent on human allies now, and is unlikely to return home by choice.”
“And yet there must be others, surely. Between the three of us and Scorponok we cannot have depleted a whole planet’s worth of warrior hearts!”
“There are a few possible candidates who might have picked up the torch and carried on. I have just had a meeting with Bludgeon, of whom you may have heard. He shows great dedication to the cause, and perhaps leadership potential. But he and his comrades Octopunch and Stranglehold recommend that we seek out another first, one who goes by the name of Thunderwing.”
“I know him. He served under Megadeath. A promising officer. I thought he would go far.”
“Many had high expectations of him, but he has been scarcely heard of in recent ages. Nevertheless, Bludgeon claims to know of his location.”
“These are slim pickings, Ravage.”
“Indeed they are, Megatron. Yet I recommend viewing the circumstance as an opportunity! We can appoint three new Decepticons to oversee our affairs, as per your orders, but I strongly urge you to make this but a temporary arrangement whilst they evaluate this Thunderwing for full command. Despite your misgivings about allowing a single leader to draw too much power to himself, we have seen that a triumvirate can be far, far worse.”
“Is there worse concerning Octus and the others that I have yet to hear?”
“There is, my lord. Ratbat’s three successors did more than simply allow the Decepticons to stagnate. They systematically set about eliminating all those who followed your ways. They took advantage of the removal of the capital from Polyhex to Helex, in the months following the fall of Darkmount and that incident with your antimatter powers and the Space Bridge, to shuffle the cards in their favour. They sent some of our finest, bravest warriors into Kalis on suicide missions to be overwhelmed and torn apart by the reanimated corpses of the mad Autobot scientist Flame. They invited aliens to Cybertron, supposedly to watch gladiatorial contests involving Autobot prisoners, but paid groups of them to eliminate troublesome – or rather, loyal – Decepticons who supposedly by accident found themselves cut off from help just when they needed it. They sent missions into Mecannibal space, which of course never returned. And then, finally, they sent those they most despised to fight us in the Time Wars.”
“You mean, the ones we killed were-?”
“Yes. The very ones that the triumvirate felt were most likely to follow in your footsteps.”
“Damn their souls. I only regret they died so quickly, before I could make them fully pay for their crimes. Tell me all.”
“I am as guilty as you are, mighty Megatron, in being an unwitting accomplice in the great Decepticon purge. I ripped the life out of one of the Insecticons with my own teeth.”
“I know not whom I killed… It is only weeks, but it feels like another life.”
“Eight were selected to go to Earth and fight alongside the Autobots against Galvatron… and us. Specially selected, they stood for everything that went against the triumvirate’s vision for Cybertron – passion, fearlessness, hunger for battle, and honour. Admittedly, some of them like Flywheels had shown an excessive tendency in this last regard, to the point of honouring alliances with the hated Autobots when our common interests were at stake.”
“I have done the same myself… though we must regrettably make an example of any who refuse to cut those ties of honour when battle is over. But I see it all now. They were the antithesis of the triumvirate, too dangerous to be allowed to live. And we killed them!”
“Not all of them. Some survived, but those who fought most ruthlessly, who showed the greatest relish for battle against unbeatable foes – the best of them – they died at our hands.”
“Who were they?”
“Insecticons all – Barrage, Chop Shop, Ransack, Venom. They were good, very good, and they fought like ones possessed. I have rarely seen braver warriors. According to the Triggercons, they felt they had something to prove. To them, death was a price worth paying to regain their honour. Given that, they never stood a chance against the triumvirate, and us.”
“Regain their honour?”
“They had recently been promoted to the Mayhem Attack Squad, and were so proud of their new positions. But on their first mission to Earth they were captured by Wreckers, and on return to Cybertron suffered the humiliation of being exchanged for a handful of unimportant Autobot prisoners – a couple of Triggerbots and a Sparkabot, I believe. They were crushed! In such a condition, Seizer and his cronies could have ordered them to fight just about anyone, and they’d have done so willingly. Determined never to be captured again, it is rumoured that the four of them made what was effectively a suicide pact, disengaging the safeties on their cerebral circuits so that incapacitation would next time result in death rather than capture.”
“My god, Ravage, what have we done? So be it, then, these are my orders. Have statues of these Deluxe Insecticons erected beside former war-lords in the Hall of Heroes, and let the statues bear the following inscription: It was Megatron’s honour to meet them in battle.”
THE END
